RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and Germany have signed an agreement on mutual protection of classified information to provide a legal framework for enhanced cooperation in the defense sector.

The pact was signed by Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Aish, assistant minister of defense, and German Vice Minister of Defense Ralf Brauksiepe here earlier this week.

“The endorsement of this agreement is a sign of the excellent bilateral relations between the two countries and indeed a major step in the administrative framework which enables us to further strengthen ties in the field of security cooperation,” said Michael Ohnmacht, charge d’affaires at the German Embassy.

Spelling out the features of this defense agreement, the diplomat said that the accord will further boost security cooperation. This Saudi-German accord covers all classified information exchanged between the two governments, and ensures that each country has appropriate and equal protection measures in place.

Through an increase in information sharing, the two countries will be able to strengthen cooperation. Referring to the visit of German Vice Minister Brauksiepe to Saudi Arabia this week, Ohnmacht said that the talks between the Saudi and German officials, on the sidelines of the signing ceremony, focused on questions of mutual interest and the current developments in the region.

“Al-Aish and Brauksiepe also discussed the common fight against terrorism and extremism, as well as ways and means to enhance the stability in the region,” he added.

Saudi Arabia and Germany have forged closer ties in different fields including defense, economy and culture; the two countries enjoy excellent bilateral relations but there’s still much room for improvement in many other sectors, he said.