It is a controversial deal, but the arms-for-oil arrangement between the UK and Saudi Arabia is the basis of ties that bind the two kingdoms. Britain exports about $4.5 billion of goods and services to Saudi Arabia every year, much of it tied up in the $40 billion contract to deliver 72 Eurofighter Typhoons assembled in Lancashire. The French, with annual exports of $3.8 billion, are catching up fast. The UK can celebrate the number of Range Rovers it sends from the West Midlands, BP’s longstanding relationships and the recent £1 billion contract for “colleges of excellence”, but the French are more deeply embedded. While Britain and the US are the mainstays of the Saudi royal air force, France’s naval shipbuilder DCNS keeps Saudi maritime
Saudi Arabia is catching up with France with its links to Saudi Arabia . The UK exported c $ 4.5bn of goods and services to Saudi Arabia each year , much of it ited up in the $ 4.5bn contract to deliver two BP . France now exports $ 3.8bn , its naval shipbuilder and is more deeply embedded.