Saudi Arabia's World Defense Show has officially opened trade visitor registration during the UK's Defense and Security Equipment International (DSEI) event. Industry attendees can now sign up for passes to the inaugural World Defense Show, held under the aegis of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, which will take place in the Kingdom's capital city of Riyadh from March 6-9, 2022. Those interested in learning more and registering for World Defense Show should visit Stand H3-110 meet the team and share their details. Registration for trade visitors is also available at the following link: https://registration.worlddefenseshow.com/rfg/publish/WDS22/simplereg.aspx Hosted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the World Defense Show will serve as the global stage for defense interoperability, a topic that has become a growing challenge for decision-makers around the world, connecting all five key domains — air, land, sea, space and security. It is the first event to put KSA on the map as a global defense hub, gathering peers and partners from the east and west to work together. The show will be held in a state-of-the-art venue on a site spanning 800,000 square meters, and is set to welcome more than 30,000 visitors and 800 exhibitors across four days. Hundreds of global defense companies have signed up for exhibition space so far, including General Dynamics, Leonardo, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Rolls Royce. Shaun Ormrod, chief executive officer of World Defense Show, commented: "Trade registrations are officially open, and we are greatly looking forward to hosting attendees from across the global industry in Riyadh next March. "DSEI is an excellent opportunity for prospective visitors to come and meet the team at the Saudi Pavilion, learn more about the fast-growing Middle East defense market and get a flavour of the unique features and programs that will be on offer at the show. "Visitors to the stand will be able to connect with key industry players at a time when regional defense economies are booming and officially open for business." Throughout DSEI in London, the Saudi Pavilion has been a central point for visitors to learn more about that opportunity from a senior-level delegation including event founder General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) and strategic partner Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI). In line with the reform that the Kingdom's Vision 2030 economic diversification plan outlines, Saudi Arabia is rebalancing defense spending by increasing localization to 50% over the next decade — with World Defense Show unlocking the opportunity for exhibitors and attendees to be part of the next phase of growth. The biennial event will enable the industry to keep pace with developments across defense and technology. The speed at which these developments take place compels the industry to cooperate across borders and domain expertise to generate opportunities throughout the defense value chain. By connecting key defense contacts, primes, SMEs, and buyers, World Defense Show has laid the foundations to advance the defense industry and address the challenges presented by ever-deeper defense systems integration. — SG
