Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-09-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many military personnel are based in Saudi Arabia; and if he will make a statement.

Mike Penning

There are around 100 military personnel based in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including at the Defence section within the British Embassy Riyadh; providing mentoring and advice to the Saudi Arabian National Guard, as part of the British Military Mission to the Saudi Arabian National Guard; personnel working on the Saudi Arabia National Guard Communications Project to acquire and support, modern communications capabilities for the Saudi Arabian National Guard and personnel working on the Ministry of Defence Saudi Armed Forces Projects, supporting the United Kingdom’s commitment to the defence of Saudi Arabia through the supply of modern military aircraft, naval vessels, weapons and associated support services to the Saudi Armed Forces. We also have a small number of liaison personnel who work at the Saudi MOD and Operational Centres. We do not discuss specific numbers for reasons of safeguarding operational security.