PARIS: Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef held strategic discussions with the leaders of Airbus during his official visit to France. The meetings centered on fortifying cooperation, localizing advanced manufacturing technologies, integrating supply chains, and drawing industrial investments into the aviation sector, aligning with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 objectives to diversify the economy and develop local content.

According to Saudi Press Agency, Alkhorayef highlighted the rapid growth of the aviation sector in Saudi Arabia, supported by the expanding national airline fleets and the development of infrastructure crucial to the aviation industry. He emphasized the Saudi Aviation Strategy’s ambitious goals, which include raising passenger traffic to 330 million annually and boosting air freight capacity to 2.5 million tons by 2030. To accommodate the increasing travel demand, Saudi Arabia plans to expand its aircraft fleet to include 334 fixed-wing aircraft and over 200 helicopters by 2032.

The discussions with Airbus underscore the strengthening collaboration between Saudi Arabia and France in the industrial domain. Both nations aim to enhance cooperation in knowledge transfer, skill localization, and industrial integration between French enterprises and their Saudi counterparts, further solidifying their partnership in the aviation industry.