The UK’s largest defence contractor, BAE, will attend Saudi Arabia’s investment conference, amid criticism over missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The news came before the UK Trade Minister, Liam Fox, reportedly pulled out.
The investment conference to be held in Riyadh next week, has seen multiple high profile companies and government representatives pull out, including HSBC, JP Morgan and Ford.
Fox, the British Minister for International Trade, is also reportedly abandoning plans to attend. His decision to reportedly withdraw follows widespread calls for him to do so and mirrors that of French and Dutch finance ministers.
BAE’s decision highlights the importance of Saudi to their business. The fortunes of both seemed to be linked, as shares in the arms company fell by three percent on Wednesday, as pressure builds on the world’s top oil exporter over Khashoggi’s disappearance increases.
BAE is one of the UK’s largest trading partners with Saudi. UK-Saudi government defence contracts see BAE sell Hawk Trainer and Typhoon fighter jets to the kingdom.
BAE has sold 72 Typhoons to Saudi. In March this year, the UK government signed a memorandum of intent to sell a further 48. The size of the contract has not been disclosed, but the order is rumoured to be worth more than £5bn.
Amnesty UK revealed that British-made bombs were being used by the Saudi-led coalition’s airstrikes on civilian buildings in Yemen.
The Saudi-led coalition has made an estimated 18,000 airstrikes on the Middle East’s poorest country since 2015, in their campaign against Yemen’s Houthis. The war has led to Yemen being on the brink of an unprecedented famine that threatens some 13 million people with starvation, the UN warns.
The UK issued arms exports worth £2.94 billion, to the Saudis, in just nine months. Saudi Arabia was one of the first countries visited by Prime Minister Theresa May, who subsequently rolled out the red carpet for a state visit by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this March.
Turkish officials have stated they believe Khashoggi was murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2 and his body removed. Saudi has denied involvement in the disappearance. While their ally, US President Donald Trump has said that “rogue killers” could be responsible. He did not provide evidence for the claim.
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