5 corvettes'deal during the visit of the Crown Prince to Spain

[The SC]

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's official visit to Spain is expected to witness the signing of a contract for the purchase of five Avanti 2200 combat vessels worth two billion euros, including command and control systems for ships and the training of 400 Saudi sailors.

The five frigates will reinforce the military capabilities of the Western fleet of Saudi Arabia enormously, will double its authority over the sea and will be used to monitor and protect the tourism project in the Red Sea.

Saudi Arabia will be involved in the manufacture of the five warships in Spain, and the Kingdom will have the right to produce some components, said the Spanish Naventia company, which will manufacture the ships to the Arab Security and Defense website.

The Avanti 2200 has many military capabilities; it is designed for intelligence gathering, cyber warfare, commercial ship control, search and rescue operations, assistance to other ships, pollution control, high seas and ocean operations, and the use of concealment/stealth technology in its manufacture and systems, as well as the ability to detect a 2-meter boat from a distance of 80 kilometers.

The Avanti 2200 is equipped with a multi-function 76 mm gun, eight surface-to-surface anti-ship missiles either Harpoon or Exocet, eight vertical launchers for short and medium range air-defence missiles, six anti-submarine torpedo launchers and a 35mm anti-air gun, plus two 12.7 mm heavy machine guns and 7.62 mm machine gun.

The ship is also equipped with several advanced communication systems, including integrated communications control system, internal communication systems and external communication systems, and is also equipped with a three-dimensional air surveillance radar, with another radar for air navigation and a fire control systems.

The total length of Avanti is 98.9 meters, its crew capacity is 92, its main platform dept is 7.2 meters and its maximum speed is 28 knots.

Naventia is a leading Spanish company in the design and manufacture of ships, the manufacture and integration of shipborne systems and equipment, crew training, ship maintenance, systems and equipment, and modernization throughout its working life.

Naventia, which plans to open an office in the Saudi capital Riyadh, will use about 2,000 people to complete it in five years of continuous work at the shipyards in Ferrol and San Fernando.

https://mobile.sabq.org/4QBsJM


The project of development of the Saudi Navy includes transfer of technology:


- 4 + 4 US frigates + technology transfer

- 5 Spanish corvettes + technology transfer

- 5 French corvettes + technology transfer

- 5 Turkish corvettes + technology transfer

- 3 French missile boats + technology transfer

- 18 French speedboat + technology transfer

 

[The SC]

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrives in Spain

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrives in Spain. (SPA)

After concluding his visit to France on Wednesday, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has made his way to Spain on an official state visit.

“The Royal Court said in a statement that upon directives of Saudi King Salman and in response to an invitation of the Government of the Spanish Kingdom, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman left France for the Kingdom of Spain,” a statement on Saudi Press Agency read.

They also reported that during the upcoming state visit to Madrid, the crown prince will meet with Spanish King Felipe VI, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and a number of officials to enhance bilateral relations between the two countries and discuss issues of common interests.






http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/2018/04/11/Crown-Prince-Heads-for-the-Kingdom-of-Spain-.html

 

[The SC]

Saudi crown prince’s visit to Spain will add ‘new dimension’ to bilateral ties

The historic visit of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Spain will lend “a new dimension” to the growing Saudi-Spanish relations, said Alvaro Iranzo Gutierrez, Spanish ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
The crown prince on Wednesday started the two-day official visit to Madrid for talks tipped to turn a new page in Saudi-Spanish affairs.

Speaking to Arab News a day before the crown prince and his entourage landed in Spain, Ambassador Alvaro said: “The visit of Crown Prince Mohammed takes place at a key moment in our bilateral relationship, in which we are defining how Spain can accompany and assist Saudi Arabia in its impressive transformation process.

“Saudi Arabia is already one of Spain’s most important partners in the Arab world on almost all fronts,” he added.

He pointed out that “Crown Prince Mohammed will have meetings with Spanish King Felipe VI, who will host a state banquet in honor of the crown prince and his accompanying delegation.”

The crown prince will also hold talks with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and Minister of Defense Dolores de Cospedal, said the diplomat.

Asked about the subjects of talks during the meetings with top Spanish officials, the ambassador said “the two sides will discuss issues such as global peace and regional stability, the fight against terrorism and extremism, interfaith as well as global cultural dialogue.

“They will, of course, devote time to examine our bilateral relations in all areas and the best ways to intensify them for the benefit of our societies,” he noted.

He pointed out that the Kingdom and Spain, within the framework of their strategic partnership to be announced during the visit, seek to enhance dialogue and expand cooperation in a number of sectors of mutual interest, which are closely aligned with the basic objectives of Saudi Vision 2030. These sectors include energy, renewable energy, infrastructure, non-oil industries, transportation, tourism, culture and entertainment, science and technology, and defense.

“The launch of a strategic partnership will help to identify and promote investment opportunities in both countries,” the envoy said.

“A bilateral council chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed and the Spanish prime minister will meet regularly to provide the strategic partnership with impulse and direction,” he said, adding that the excellent political relationship has been “nurtured for many decades by our two royal families, and our governments,” who work hand in hand in many fields.

In reply to a question about the possible agreements to be endorsed by the two countries, he said: “A good number of bilateral agreements and MoUs will be signed in the fields of justice, culture, transportation, and science and technology, among others.”

However, he said that signing contracts is not the goal of this historic visit. “In any case, it is no secret that Spain and Saudi Arabia are active partners in the field of defense as well,” he noted.

“Spain has important industrial and technological defense capabilities… and we are committed to assisting Saudi Arabia in its need to provide its armed forces with the necessary means to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” said the envoy.

On the commercial front, Alvaro said the Kingdom and Spain have forged closer ties. “Saudi Arabia is Spain’s largest commercial partner in the Middle East with a total value of trade exceeding €5.5 billion in 2017.
“But our ambitions go far beyond these figures,” said the diplomat, adding that a large number of Spanish companies have been awarded key projects in the Kingdom.

To this end, he noted several projects including the Riyadh Metro and the Haramain high-speed rail project connecting the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah, and some projects in the oil and gas sector.

Referring to the growing business and tourism traffic between the two countries, he said that more than 73,000 Saudi citizens visited Spain last year. “It gives me great pleasure to see the growing Saudi interest in Spanish culture, history, cuisine and, of course, sports,” he added. He said Spain could become a “solid partner of Saudi Arabia” in the tourism sector. “Moreover, many Spaniards will also be delighted to visit Saudi Arabia and enjoy its unique hospitality and wonderful historical sites.”

Alvaro also spoke about the Spanish position on key regional issues, saying that the “only an inclusive political solution that meets the aspirations and needs of all Syrians and leads to a genuine transition will end this conflict and restore unity and stability to Syria.”

On the Yemen crisis, he said that Spain sees Yemen and its militants as “a growing security threat for Saudi Arabia, with the increasing number of ballistic missiles launched on the urban areas of the Kingdom in the recent past.”
He called on all factions in Yemen to return to the negotiating table and engage constructively with UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths with an aim to reach a political settlement. As for Iran, he reiterated the Spanish position, saying that Tehran should play “constructive roles” in the region to ensure peace and security. The envoy also lent his country’s support for the Middle East peace process and for the two-state solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1283181/saudi-arabia

 

[The SC]

The deal is worth $3.3 billion in total and it includes:

Saudi Arabia has put conditions on the work that Spain is supposed to accept, one of which lies in the construction of the Saudi naval base, where the fleet of corvettes will be located in the Arabian Gulf. Where initially based in Jeddah, the second most important city in Saudi Arabia and located on the banks of the Red Sea, but the work of this important infrastructure will not be completely Spanish. As the newspaper learned, Saudi Arabia will try to build the base with its local companies, who will be responsible for implementing the project while Spain's role is limited to support.

The contract goes beyond shipbuilding and there is also assistance in military technology. There is also a contract for the development of control and fighting systems for ships. The contracts also include the establishment of a naval training school in Saudi Arabia with offshore simulators, as well as the training of about 400 Saudi sailors in Spain. Saudi Arabia has indicated its desire to test ship launches in Saudi Arabia.

In this context, the Saudi government has expressed its intention with Navantia to seek a strategic partnership with the company to participate in the international projects of Navantia. At this point Navantia had accepted the harshest terms of the deal, because Saudi companies could be involved with the Spanish company in international shipbuilding deals. Not to mention that Navantia is participating in three international competitions to build frigates, the most important of which is the Australia program, which includes the construction of nine frigates for its navy, similar to the F-100 frigates of the Spanish Navy, as well as other projects with Canada and the United States that Navantia aspires to win.

The agreement on confidentiality and cooperation between Spain and Saudi Arabia was signed last August and ratified an agreement on the mutual protection of confidential information in defense. A document signed by the Director of the National Intelligence Center Felix Sans-Roldan, and the representative of the Saudi Ministry of Defense and Saudi Defense Ministry Assistant Mohammed bin Abdullah al-Ayish. The Agreement entered into force on 25 August and has an initial validity of five years and can be extended for successive periods of one year. This is another step in the defense relations between Spain and Saudi Arabia to ensure the protection of exchanged confidential information as well as between the contractors accredited to it.

http://www.lavozdigital.es/cadiz/pr...-construir-corbetas-201801220741_noticia.html

 

[The SC]

King of Spain Felipe VI Receives Saudi Crown Prince