RIYADH — Under the patronage of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, the General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) has announced the return of the World Defense Show for a second edition. Scheduled from Feb. 4-8, 2024 in Riyadh, World Defense Show is the industry’s leading event globally and will spotlight the future of defense through a showcase of the most advanced defense technologies available. World Defense Show embraces the vision of the Kingdom’s leadership, demonstrated through the return of this future-focused domain-driven international event that aspires to set the gold standard for exhibitions on the global defense show circuit. On the announcement, GAMI Governor Ahmad A. Al-Ohali voiced his gratitude and appreciation to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and to Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, prime minister and chairman of the Board of Directors of GAMI. Al-Ohali took the opportunity to acknowledge the unmitigated support of the nation’s leadership, and its unrelenting custodianship of the sector, as an embodiment of its aspirational vision of enhancing the Kingdom’s strategic autonomy. As for the ultimate goal, it is to achieve localization of more than 50% of expenditure on defense equipment and services, by the year 2030. A goal that is expected to be reached via focusing on developing indigenous capabilities in defense industries, technologies, and national competencies, as well job creation for Saudi youth, and an increased contribution from the sector to the national economy. Organically, World Defense Show is a powerful enabler for realization of this vision. “World Defense Show is a strategic driver, through which the aspirational vision of our leadership to localize defense industries in the Kingdom may be realized. “It also creates an ideal environment, to exchange knowledge, and to provoke a discourse on thought leadership, based on successful local and international experience, while introducing the technologies and innovations that are on the cutting edge of the frontier. “One further key aim of the event will be to build on the Kingdom’s robust international partnerships and explore new major investment opportunities.” Investment opportunities are open to all manufacturers, suppliers, and international service providers who share the passion and commitment to transfer of technology, human talent development, and strategic partnership building, along the Kingdom’s aspirational localization journey. Following the success of the inaugural WDS 2022, WDS continues to receive massive interest in participating in 2024. In response to this strong demand, and as part of the show’s overall enhancement initiatives, WDS organizers have reviewed expansion plans to include a third exhibition hall offering the defense community with an additional 25% of exhibition space, to compliment the two existing main halls. Purpose built for WDS, the venue provides unrivalled facilities and features that deliver the very best platforms to connect, communicate, and collaborate. On the returning exhibition, Andrew Pearcey, CEO, World Defense Show, commented, “We are excited to present our valued global defense community partners with the second edition of WDS in February 2024. In the second edition of the show, we aspire to focus even more so on the Future of Defense, and further facilitate a world-class future-focused platform for technological innovation and thought leadership. “We have big ambitions for 2024, and our team is working tirelessly to deliver a truly fantastic show once again, with strategically crafted networking programs set to feature delegations, governments, global defense industry original equipment manufacturers, and investors. “Since the resounding success of the sold out inaugural World Defense Show in 2022, we have really been humbled and so very pleased with the overwhelming interest from exhibitors and new defense ecosystem constituents keen to participate. “In fact, and in order to accommodate this tremendous growth in demand, we have expanded our venue to accommodate an additional 9,000 square meters in exhibitor space. Our oath to the global defense community, is to continue to improve upon the quality of the show with every edition, and in doing so, continue to surpass your expectations.” Founded by GAMI, the inaugural WDS registered military & defense procurement contracts with a total estimated value of $7.92 billion (SR29.7 billion). WDS 2022 also attracted over 600 exhibitors from more than 42 countries, over 100 official defense and security delegations, and witnessed more than 65,000 visits over the course of the show. — SPA