Airbus supports Mission Archéologique de Madain Salih in Saudia Arabia

Restating its commitment to the community in Saudi Arabia, Airbus announced its partnership with the “Madain Salih Archaeological Project”, at a conference recently held at the French Embassy in Riyadh. 

The partnership began in October 2016 when Airbus agreed to provide funding to a project placed under the aegis of the French Ministry for Foreign affairs and the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Heritage (SCTH). The project is undertaken through an agreement between the SCTH and the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS). The 2017 fieldwork season, which receives support from Airbus, will start mid-January.

Airbus’ support to the project reinforces the company’s commitment to the Kingdom through its involvement in community, economical and talent growth initiatives for sectors targeted by Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. As the Kingdom set up its strategy at a 15 years horizon, Airbus stands together with Saudi Arabia to achieve its National Transformation Plan for which archeology is a strategic objective.

Jacques Bourgeois, General Delegate at Airbus stressed that, “Airbus is a steadfast and integral partner to the communities we serve across Africa and the Middle East. To that end, we invest in a number of strategic programmes aimed at building a future of shared prosperity for generations to come. When it comes to this partnership specifically, it is important for Airbus to contribute to the local cultural scene and help build the bridges as a strong supporter for the Franco-Saudi cooperation.”

“Collaboration is essential to Airbus’ forward planning,” added Jacques Bourgeois, “some of our initiatives are locally flavored versions of global Airbus initiatives, reflecting our ‘think global and act local’ mindset; others are entirely homegrown innovations.”

Also called ‘Al- Hijr’, Mada'in Saleh is a highly-recognised Saudi archaeological site which is located in the Province of Al-Madinah and attracts much interest in the country as well as from the scientific community around the world.

Representative from the CNRS team Laila Nehme said, “We are pleased to have Airbus as a partner who is actively working to shape the future through applied science, innovation and technology. Social responsibility in cases like these is paramount to preserve the history and culture of Saudi Arabia and the partnership with Airbus will allow this research project to make prominent progress in the understanding of Kingdom’s history.”