DUBAI: A top official from French missile manufacturer MBDA said the firm is discussing areas of cooperation with Saudi regulators, as the Kingdom ramps up spending in the military and defense sectors. Speaking to Arab News, Patrice Hajjar, the company’s vice president of sales and business development, said MBDA is in talks with the Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI), as well as the General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI). Headquartered in France, MBDA has been present in the Middle East for around 45 years, having sold many of its weapon systems to customers in the Kingdom, the UAE, and Qatar, as well as other countries in the Gulf. The missile maker now wants to further strengthen its foothold in the region, and speaking on the sidelines of the Dubai Airshow Hajjar said: “We already have an assembly line for air defense systems in Saudi Arabia, and we have an office there. Now our aim is to embrace more of this ambition by creating joint ventures." The statements were made on the back of an aggressive Saudi campaign to localize its defense industry, with the government tapping international manufacturers to achieve this goal. “We have a strategy to transfer as much knowledge as possible through training and technology,” he added, saying they apply the same to other markets in the region such as the UAE and Qatar. Hajjar also said they aim to establish more facilities in the region - assembly lines and factories - to contribute to local economies. The Saudi government is keen to achieve its target of localizing 50 percent of military spending by 2030 - a mission led by industry regulators SAMI and GAMI. Many international companies such as Lockheed Martin and Honeywell have earlier announced significant partnerships with local companies.