(Adnkronos) – Foreign minister Antonio Tajani, around 500 Italian firms, Italy’s trade agency ICE, private employers’ association Confindustria and other key economic players will attend a bilateral business forum in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, on Tuesday, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
A total 900 companies, including over 450 Saudi ones will be guests at the Italy-Saudi Arabia Business Forum in Riyadh, an event that aims to bolster the economic partnership between the two countries, said the statement.
The forum will revolve around five roundtables: infrastructure, the automotive industry, sustainable transport, construction and furniture; pharmaceuticals; high tech (including digital, AI and semiconductors); agricultural technologies and agro-industry; and culture and the sports industry, the statement continued.
After the panel discussions, there will be a working lunch followed by B2B meetings between Italian companies and their Saudi counterparts. In the afternoon, there will be a plenary session with contributions from ICE, Confindustria and other prominent Italian economic players, the statement added.
Tajani and Saudi investment minister Khalid A. al-Falih will give concluding addresses to the forum.
While in Riyadh, Tajani will hold talks with Saudi officials and also take part in a furniture fair, said the statement.
The government is looking to leverage Italy’s “technical and industrial excellence” to become a leading partner of Saudi Arabia, whose ‘Vision 2030’ development programme and wide-ranging reforms are driving a profound economic transformation of the Kingdom, the statement went on.
“Italy aims to become a leading partner in the Saudi transformation thanks to its technical and industrial excellence, the quality and reliability of Italian-made products, and the flexibility and co-design capabilities of our companies,” the statement underlined.
Saudi Arabia is establishing itself as one of the most dynamic and strategic markets in the region and is a priority for Italy’s Export Action Plan, the statement added.
Over the past five years, bilateral trade has soared 67% while Italian exports to Saudi Arabia have climbed almost 20% annually since 2022, with a 27.9% rise in 2024, according to the statement.
