Commander of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces Lt. Gen. Fahd Bin Abdullah Al Ghafaili, launched here on Thursday the first and second speedboats of the speedboat project at the French CMN headquarters here in the presence of a number of military officials from both sides, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. At the inauguration ceremony, Lt. Gen. Al-Ghafaili said, "The constructive support and overall development of our armed forces in general and our naval forces in particular is being guided by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense." He cited many developments in various armaments, training and future projects in line with the Kingdom's Vision 2030 that will help to place the Kingdom in the ranks of the world's advanced navies to match with the Kingdom's position and its regional and international leadership at all levels. He emphasized that the Navy seeks through this project and other projects to develop its combat capabilities and increase its capabilities to protect the Saudi Arabia economic interests and defend the regional waters. CMN Chairman Pierre Palmer said, he valued the partnership between the Saudi Arabian Navy and the company while expressing his pleasure at the launch of these boats, one of the fastest growing marine vessels in the world with its very high potential. Palmer also stressed on the historical relationship between the Saudi Navy and the French Navy, and the launch of these boats represents a development of these historical relations. The partnership includes the manufacturing of 39 speedboats, some of which will be manufactured by CMN in France while the rest will be made in the Kingdom, according to the agreement with the French company. The enhanced collaboration comes within the sphere of the Saudi-French partnership in the field of military industrialization and cooperation. — SPA
