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Date
International
21 Oct 2022

Spain-Saudi Arabia Business Meeting

The President of CEOE International, Marta Blanco, spoke at the opening of the Spain-Saudi Arabia Business Meeting organised by the Secretary of State for Trade/ICEX, the Spanish Chamber of Commerce and the CEOE about current investment opportunities in this market along with the Director of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, Inmaculada Riera, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia, Badr Albadr, and the Secretary of State for Trade, Xiana Méndez. 

Arabia Saudí


During the meeting, Inmaculada Riera noted that both countries have strengthened public-private economic partnership, that Saudi Arabia is the most important market in the Middle East, and that Spain is a preferred destination for Saudi investments in economic and productive sectors of all kinds. 

In her speech, Marta Blanco praised the Vision 2030 Plan, which will diversify and modernise the Saudi economy, contributing to the development and creation of investment opportunities for Spanish companies, which are highly competitive and international leaders, and which can contribute their experience to develop strategies and create opportunities and synergies. 

Likewise, she mentioned that Spain and Saudi Arabia can work together in markets such as Latin America and Africa. She also advocated greater international trade and investment, which are absolutely necessary to become more resilient but also more efficient and competitive.

For his part, Badr Albadr underlined the benefits of cooperation between the two countries and highlighted Saudi Arabia’s private sector and regulatory processes to make investment in Saudi Arabia safer and more attractive. On this point, he set out various sectors suitable for this purpose, such as pharmaceuticals, energy, new technologies, tourism and construction, among others. 

Xiana Méndez highlighted the agreement to expand trade and investment, which are key to overcoming the crisis. She also reaffirmed the Spanish Government’s commitment to supporting companies abroad and highlighted the presence of Spanish companies in various projects in that country. 

This was followed by a session about investment opportunities in Saudi Arabia, featuring participants from the country’s Ministry of Investment, who explained the main aspects of the Vision 2030 Plan, the National Investment Strategy, as well as the main attractions of Saudi Arabia for business and investment, notably including its strategic location, modern digital infrastructure and the development of gigaprojects, among others. Information about investor support was also given and the case of the company AlFanar was presented.

This was followed by sectoral panels about, on the one hand, infrastructure and water treatment and, on the other, tourism and related services, in which companies from both countries representing these sectors presented their activity and experience in the Saudi and Spanish markets and discussed possible areas of joint collaboration. 

The Co-Presidents of the Business Council, Luis Rodríguez Llopis, President of IDOM for Spain, and Khalid Alhogail, CEO and General Manager of the Saudi Public Transport Company (SAPTCO), for Saudi Arabia, then spoke. Both of them noted the good business relationship between the two countries and the importance of strengthening business cooperation and implementing new initiatives jointly. 

The meeting was closed by the Spanish Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, and the Minister of the Economy and Planning, Faisal Alibrahim. They referred to the third meeting of the Joint Commission, and agreed on the good institutional relations between the two countries, as well as business relations, where some significant examples of collaboration on joint projects were cited. Furthermore, it was noted that Spanish companies operating in Saudi Arabia aim to remain there in the long term; examples of this are the existing Joint Ventures and the mutual collaboration on tenders. Finally, emphasis was placed on the new opportunities for collaboration that will be created on the back of the gigaprojects in various sectors as well as in third markets. 

Arabia Saudí

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