UK Abraham Accords Group Chairman the Rt. Hon. Sir Liam Fox addresses the British-Saudi Society

Speaking to the British-Saudi Society at the Royal Thames Yacht Club in Knightsbridge, Sir Liam, whose speech was titeld 'Security in the Gulf: An Opportunity for a New Dynamic?', discussed the relationship between Britain and Saudi Arabia. Sir Liam remarked that the UK-Saudi relationship is built on three pillars: a close economic partnership; strong intelligence cooperation; and shared security cooperation to contend with mutual threats. These pillars are underpinned by a joint interest in regional security and stability. Saudi Arabia and Britian share in their threat perception of Iran, a revisionist regional power that seeks to upturn the exisiting order in the Middle East. Afterwards, Sir Liam took questions from the audience, made up of Saudi nationals and British individuals with a personal, historical, or political interest in Saudi Arabia. Sir Liam called on Saudi Arabia to be included in minilateral efforts to build sixth-generation fighter aircraft, particularly GCAP. Referring to his medical background,  Sir Liam called for an upgraded technological partnership with Saudi Arabia such as on artificial intelligence and quantum technologies. On the important issue of Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, Sir Liam unequivoaclly stated that Saudi Arabia has an absolute right to defend its sovereignty.