RIYADH: Rolls-Royce Saudi Arabia, a wholly-owned subsidiary of British aerospace and defense firm Rolls-Royce Holdings, aims to reach 80 percent Saudization by the end of 2023 as it is actively creating job opportunities for the nationals. “We hope to expand to around 300 employees in the next five years. The majority of them will be Saudi nationals,” said the company’s managing director and country director, Ibrahim Al-Harthi, on the sidelines of the World Defense Show in Riyadh. The company is currently at 75 percent Saudization, putting it in the platinum rating. Having presence for over 50 years in Saudi Arabia, Al-Harthi said they look forward to showing people what the company is doing for the Kingdom and creating more partnerships with Saudi businesses during the event. The aerospace and defense system major has worked with the Royal Saudi Air Force on all its platforms. “We help them with the Typhoon fleet, which is the backbone of the Saudi Air Force. We are also proving the support in the Hawk training fleet,” said Al-Harthi. He said the company has been following the Vision 2030 blueprint for the past few years by including local talent, offering Saudi nationals jobs and transferring technology. It is even training Saudi nationals in the UK, said Al-Harthi, adding that the company also has a “training department here in the country to train Saudi nationals to meet the requirements.” Al-Harthi explained that Rolls-Royce’s motto is to provide Saudi Arabia with the ability to protect itself. “By doing this, we are protecting the country’s borders in the sea and the land.” He underlined that the company has a solid relationship with the Kingdom and a robust partnership with the Royal Saudi Air Force and Saudi Airlines. “We look forward to expanding this with the Saudi navy when they will receive their new ships powered by Rolls-Royce,” Al-Harthi concluded.