President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday that he has arrived in Saudi Arabia to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud.
In an X update, Zelensky said the two will advance agreements “in the areas of security, energy, and infrastructure.”
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“Yesterday, at a meeting with European leaders, we secured financial guarantees for our resilience. Today, we are advancing our agreements with Saudi Arabia in the areas of security, energy, and infrastructure,” he wrote, referring to his visit to Cyprus for an informal EU meeting after a vital €90 billion ($106 billion) loan was passed a day prior.
The Saudi meeting is believed to be an extension of previous defense agreements signed with the Gulf states.
On April 19, Zelensky confirmed that Kyiv has signed 10-year defense export agreements with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
He said the agreements are part of a broader “Drone Deal” framework that will include at least 10 separate contracts covering exports of Ukrainian weapons, joint production and manufacturing lines in Ukraine and abroad.
In his X update, Zelensky also emphasized the “mutual” nature of the agreement with Saudi Arabia.
“It is important that the strengthening is mutual. I appreciate the substantive cooperation between our countries,” he added.
Kyiv has already deployed over 200 specialists to help the Gulf states counter Iranian drones. While Ukraine is likely to supply Ukrainian interceptor drones to the Gulf states as part of the agreements, what it gains in return is less clear.
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Zelensky has previously hinted at efforts to source alternatives to the Patriot system after his last Gulf visit, later saying he is eyeing the US-made Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense systems.
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