Azernews.Az

South Korea's defense chief met with Saudi Arabia's minister of national guard to discuss ways to expand bilateral cooperation in the defense and arms industry, officials said Monday, Azernews reports, citing Yonhap.

Ahn held the meeting with Saudi's Minister of National Guard Abdullah bin Bandar in Riyadh on Sunday (local time), the defense ministry said.

During the talks, Ahn said he thinks highly of continued cooperation between the two countries in the defense and arms industries, citing Seoul's role as a key partner in Saudi's Vision 2030 initiative.

Under the initiative, the country aims to localize over 50 percent of military equipment procurement by 2030, in addition to modernizing the military.

In response, Abdullah said he welcomed Ahn's visit, hoping the talks would serve as an opportunity for further moving their relations forward, according to the ministry.

The two sides also agreed to expand cooperation to boost mutual trust, including through personnel exchanges and joint military training.

South Korean defense firms have been actively pushing to take part in the Middle Eastern country's projects to strengthen its military assets, with Hanwha Aerospace Co. opening a regional headquarters in Riyadh last month.