Beth: The Federation of Saudi Chambers of Commerce hosted today (Monday) a delegation from the Portuguese Federation of Business, which includes a number of companies operating in a number of economic sectors, in a meeting that brought them together with their counterparts of Saudi business owners to discuss prospects for trade and investment cooperation between the two countries.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Acting Secretary-General of the Federation of Saudi Chambers of Commerce, Mr. Hussein bin Abdul Qader Al-Abdul Qader, stressed the distinguished relations between the Kingdom and the Republic of Portugal, especially in the economic aspect, where the volume of trade exchange reached 2.5 billion riyals in 2021, calling for redoubling efforts and investing competitive advantages on both sides. And to provide more support to the Saudi-Portuguese Business Council to develop the trade and investment relationship and enhance economic cooperation that serves sustainable development in the two countries.

He noted the Union's interest in developing Saudi-Portuguese economic relations and the signing in 2021 of a memorandum of understanding with the Portuguese Business Federation to establish a joint Saudi-Portuguese business council, where work is underway to set targets for the council to implement them with the support of government agencies to provide an investment environment conducive to raising the trade and investment partnership between the two business sectors. in the two states.

Al-Abdulqader called for creating partnerships in various economic sectors through the partnership between the Saudi and Portuguese business sectors, or with the two governments’ contribution to joint investment projects, especially in the building and construction sector, which is of interest to the Portuguese side, while this sector is one of the main sectors in the Kingdom and its contribution to the output The domestic sector accounts for approximately 13% of the total other non-oil sectors, and the size of the sector is about 30 billion riyals, contributing 5% of the GDP. This sector is classified as the largest and fastest growing in the Middle East, with an annual growth rate of 2.2% ., pointing to the developments witnessed by the Saudi economy in light of Vision 2030, which provides huge opportunities for Portuguese investors.

For his part, the Ambassador of the Republic of Portugal to the Kingdom, Mr. Nuno Matias, expressed the embassy's full support for developing Saudi-Portuguese trade relations and introducing the business environment in the two countries, pointing to the economic potentials of his country, including the advantages of the strategic location and economic openness, and that it represents an ideal choice for business.

In turn, the head of the delegation, member of the Portuguese Business Federation Paulo Vaz, expressed the desire of Portuguese companies to enter the Saudi market, considering that the establishment of the Saudi-Portuguese Business Council constitutes a strong addition to economic relations, pointing to the successful participation of Portuguese companies in a number of events and exhibitions in the Kingdom during the past years, adding that the economy The Portuguese is recovering well from the Corona pandemic, and that a government plan for economic recovery will constitute an opportunity to enhance trade and investment with the Saudi market, pointing to the diversity of Portuguese exports and the need to expand the export base and diversify target markets, including the Saudi market, which is considered among the 51 largest destinations for Portuguese exports.

He noted the growth of trade relations by 30% between 2010-2019 and by 13% between 2019-2021, in addition to the more than doubled in the export of Portuguese goods to the Kingdom.

The meeting witnessed a presentation by the Ministry of Investment entitled "Invest in Saudi Arabia", the most prominent economic elements of the Kingdom, investment opportunities in the promising sectors and the incentives it offers to foreign investors, while the Portuguese side presented a presentation entitled: Why Portugal, which dealt with the structure of business in Portugal, the incentives and advantages it offers to investors, and exemptions. Tax, customs and priority sectors.