UK defense minister lauds ‘incredibly quick’ Saudi transformation

Britain’s Defense Secretary Grant Shapps arrives at the annual Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, northern England, on October 2, 2023. (AFP)
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  • ‘Forget everything you think you know about ,’ says Grant Shapps
  • Kingdom has ‘women in the workplace at levels that would be unimaginable three or four years ago’

LONDON: ’s “incredibly quick” transformation is seeing women join the workforce at “unimaginable levels,” the UK’s defense minister has said.

Praising the Kingdom as a “strong ally” of Britain at an event on the sidelines of the Conservative Party conference, Grant Shapps lauded societal change in , The Times reported on Monday.

“Forget everything you think you know about . Actually, the country is changing incredibly quickly,” he said, citing “women in the workplace at levels that would be unimaginable three or four years ago.”

He added: “What you can’t underestimate is the impact that is having on their society and the way they govern.”

’s “society is moving very much in a way we have always called for societies around the world to move,” Shapps said.