'BAE SYSTEMS seeks partnership with GCC companies,' says Regional Director

Speaking ahead of IDEX 2003, to be held in Abu Dhabi next week, Keith said: 'Partnering with local companies in the Middle East will bring out the best in both of us.'

'The Middle East is such an important area for BAE SYSTEMS,' he explained. 'I am a new face with a fresh approach in a company with new and exciting capabilities. Just like the region.'

BAE SYSTEMS already has teaming agreements in the Gulf, in addition to the shared experience with its traditional British partners like Rolls Royce in UAE or VT Aerospace in Kuwait.

Keith also quoted the partnership with VT (the former Vosper Thornycroft) in Flagship, a consortium currently training naval personnel from several nations, including Kuwait and the United Kingdom.

'There are other partnership links with other world-class companies like Lockheed Martin with whom BAE SYSTEMS is teamed for the KC4I programme in Kuwait,' he pointed out.

'This project is designed to integrate the resources already in place and those planned to protect the state against future aggression in what is obviously a tense part of the region.

'Several other AGCC nations have important requirements for command and control facilities that through partnership, I am confident that BAE SYSTEMS can solve.'

In other parts of the Middle East, BAE SYSTEMS has been involved with the Egyptian government's aspirations for several decades and has recently signed agreements in Jordan.

'The future holds a great deal of promise for BAE SYSTEMS in the Middle East and we look forward to the opportunity,' commented Keith, who believes that BAE SYSTEMS has come a long way since the last IDEX in 2001.

'We are now talking about a company that combines the skills and expertise of British Aerospace with the achievement of Marconi and the host of US companies that make up BAE North America. What we now have to offer the region is not just platforms but total solutions.'

In the United Kingdom, BAE SYSTEMS has been successful in bringing a series of huge projects to the customer. The future aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy will be the responsibility of the BAE SYSTEMS prime contract office.

'It is exactly this expertise that I want to harness for the Middle East. And I want to show that we have commitment even though I think our record says much in this respect - the 5,500 employees in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and support teams in Kuwait and Oman,' he said.