Saudi Arabia's crown prince Mohammed bin Salman (L) and Spanish Minister of Defence Maria Doroles de Cospedal sign agreements as Spanish Pime Minister Mariano Rajoy looks on at La Moncloa palace in Madrid on April 12, 2018.
Prince Mohammed arrived in Spain late on April 11, 2018 hot on the heels of a three-day official visit to France and after a tour lasting several weeks of Egypt, the United States and Britain that saw the self-styled moderniser sign multimillion-dollar deals. Madrid is the last stop of his global diplomatic charm offensive in a bid to project a new liberal image of his conservative kingdom.

 / AFP PHOTO / OSCAR DEL POZO
Saudi Arabia's crown prince Mohammed bin Salman (L) and Spanish Minister of Defence Maria Doroles de Cospedal sign agreements as Spanish Pime Minister Mariano Rajoy looks on at La Moncloa palace in MaShow more

Spain and Saudi Arabia sign $2.2bn deal for warships



Spain and Saudi Arabia signed a framework agreement to sell warships to the kingdom as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman wrapped a nearly month-long foreign tour to boost economic and defence ties.

The Saudi crown prince and Spain's defence minister signed an "executive summary to facilitate the necessary procedures" for the Saudi defence ministry to sign a contract with Spanish state-owned shipbuilder Navantia for the supply of warships, a Saudi government statement said late on Thursday.

It said another agreement was signed between state-owned Saudi Arabian Military Industries Company and Navantia, but did not provide details.

A Spanish defence ministry source told Reuters that under the deal, Navantia would sell five small warships, Spain's army would train Saudi military personnel and contractors would build a naval construction centre in the kingdom.

The two sides have been negotiating the warship deal since 2015, and the final contract between the Saudi defence ministry and Navantia would take longer to complete, the source said.

According to the independent global security database of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Spain is the fourth-biggest exporter of military equipment and weapons to Saudi Arabia after the US, Britain and France.

Prince Mohammed, who serves as defence minister and controls economic and energy policy, arrived in Spain on Wednesday after nearly three weeks in the United States and three-day visit to France. He was welcomed by Spain's King Felipe VI at the Zarzuela palace on the outskirts of Madrid and also met Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and Defence Minister Maria Dolores de Cospedal.

During his visit Saudi Arabia and Spain signed six agreements in the areas of defence, air transport, culture, technology and labour and social development, the Saudi government's Centre for International Communication said.

The crown prince has also visited Egypt and Britain this year - his first foreign trips since being made heir to the Saudi throne last June.

_______________

Read more: 

France and Saudi Arabia agree on need to curb Iran's 'expansionism'

Saudi Arabia pushes ahead with diversification agenda, pursues deals from tech to energy in US

_______________

TERMINAL HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENCE (THAAD)

What is THAAD?

It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.

Production:

It was created in 2008.

Speed:

THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.

Abilities:

THAAD is designed to take out  ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".

Purpose:

To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.

Range:

THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.

Creators:

Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.

UAE and THAAD:

In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.

Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hoopla%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jacqueline%20Perrottet%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2010%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20required%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24500%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Cargoz%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20January%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Premlal%20Pullisserry%20and%20Lijo%20Antony%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2030%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Seed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Thank You for Banking with Us

Director: Laila Abbas

Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum

Rating: 4/5

Jigra
Director: Vasan Bala
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Rated: 3.5/5
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Stage result

1. Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix 4:42:34

2. Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Hansgrohe

3. Elia Viviani (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers

4. Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) BikeExchange-Jayco

5. Emils Liepins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo

6. Arnaud Demare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ

7. Max Kanter (Ger) Movistar Team

8. Olav Kooij (Ned) Jumbo-Visma

9. Tom Devriendt (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux

10. Pascal Ackermann (Ger) UAE Team Emirate