Saudi sovereign fund sets up tourism venture Asfar to drive investments

Saudi sovereign fund sets up tourism venture Asfar to drive investments

RIYADH: The World Defense Show 2024 is gearing up to be a significant global event, and one of the key highlights is Turkiye’s debut.   

The show, scheduled for February next year, will witness the presence of 29 Turkish defense companies, making it one of the largest country pavilions with a vast exhibiting space of 3,229 sq. meters.   

In an interview with Arab News, Mansour Al-Babtain, chief liaison officer for Saudi Arabia at WDS, emphasized the significance of Turkiye’s participation at the forthcoming event.  

He said: “This not only reflects the growth of WDS but also underscores the global interest in the Saudi Arabian market.”  

Prominent countries’ participation   

Al-Babtain highlighted the significant growth in the number of countries participating in the show next year compared to the first edition.   

“WDS 2024 is set to witness over 60 exhibiting countries, a substantial increase of more than 20 nations compared to the first edition. We are excited to welcome first-time representation from countries such as Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Denmark, Kuwait, Oman and several new African countries,” he said.  

Al-Babtain added: “We have also observed significant expansion from returning countries, with pavilions from the Czech Republic, Greece, China, India, Switzerland, Italy and Sudan growing substantially.   

“Turkiye, in its