Raytheon, Saudi Aramco to Form New Cybersecurity Joint Venture; Dave Wajsgras Quoted

Saudi Aramco and Raytheon’s Saudi Arabian arm have agreed to set up a joint venture firm focused on cybersecurity through a memorandum of understanding.

The new JV will build and offer cyber defense hardware and software platforms, advance research-and-development work related to cybersecurity and provide related capabilities in Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle Eastern region, Saudi Aramco said Friday.

“Cybersecurity is critical to national and global security,” said Dave Wajsgras, president of Raytheon’s intelligence, information and services business.

“This MOU is an important step in creating a joint venture that we see becoming the cornerstone of cybersecurity defenses in the region,” Wajsgras added.

Khalid Al-Dabbagh, senior vice president of finance for strategy development at Saudi Aramco, said the JV supports the Middle Eastern country’s Vision 2030 that seeks to advance economic development and generate highly skilled jobs in the cybersecurity sector.