Italy protagonist in Saudi Arabia. More than 400 companies in Riyadh

With over a thousand registered companies from both countries, the Italy-Saudi Arabia Business Forum 2025 to be held on 25 November in Riyadh represents one of the largest bilateral economic events in recent years, as well as a strategic appointment for economic relations between the two countries. Organised by Ice Agenzia with the support of the Italian Embassy in Riyadh and the main Saudi counterparts, the Forum is presented as a real country system action, strengthened by the presence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani (see the speech on the page), who will be in Riyadh for institutional meetings and to attend both the Business Forum and the event "Red in progress. Salone del Mobile. Milan meets Riyadh" organised from 26 to 28 November by the Salone del Mobile in view of the event that will take place in November 2026. The top management of Ice, Sace, Simest and Confindustria will also be present, as well as entrepreneurs and managers from over 430 Italian companies from various sectors, for a total of 805 Italian participants registered as of today, including 385 from the infrastructure sector, 146 from high-tech sectors, 99 from the pharmaceutical sector, 95 from agritech and 80 from the sports industry.

The Forum - subdivided into five thematic macro-areas - includes about 340 B2B meetings between Italian companies and more than 600 Saudi Arabian businesses. Numbers that render well the reciprocity of interests between the two countries. For Italian companies (which in the first nine months of 2025 exported goods worth 4.4 billion Euros to the Kingdom, an increase of 4.3% compared to the previous year, according to Ice data) this is a key market for further increasing their exports, especially in this historical phase of redefinition of the balance and routes of global trade. For Saudi Arabia, Italy, with its manufacturing excellence in all sectors, is an ideal partner to achieve the objectives of Vision 2030, the development strategy launched by the government in 2016, which aims to diversify the national economy, reducing dependence on oil through major investments in the sectors of manufacturing, infrastructure, renewable energy, tourism, as well as culture and sport.

This is confirmed by the fact that, in 2024, Italy gained a position among the main Saudi suppliers, rising to seventh place, with an increase in imports of Italian goods of 35.2%. Trade between the two countries amounted to €10.3 billion in 2024, with a positive trade balance for Italy of €2.1 billion, thanks to exports of €6.2 billion (+27.9% compared to 2023), driven in particular by sales of machinery and pharmaceutical products, but also semi-finished products for industry, furniture and means of transport.

"Saudi Arabia is one of the high-potential markets included in the Plan for the acceleration of exports to non-EU markets presented last March by the Minister of Foreign Affairs," explains Ice President Matteo Zoppas. "This is why we wanted to organise this event in Riyadh, which is eagerly awaited by companies, with the aim of also involving small and medium-sized enterprises, for which it is more difficult to enter such complex markets. Numerous large groups will participate in the Forum and already have a structured presence in the country, from WeBuild to Mapei, from Pirelli to Prysmian, from Diasorin Gksd. Large groups that act "as a leader, opening the way also for smaller realities," Zoppas adds.

And on the importance of involving SMEs, Barbara Cimmino, vice president of Confindustria with responsibility for export and investment attraction, also insists. "We work so that not only large companies, which already have the necessary tools and levers, but above all medium and small companies have the opportunity to enter markets with high growth potential, such as Saudi Arabia," says Cimmino. 'We expect that what has happened in the UAE for the past 20 years will happen here in the next 10-15 years,' he adds. A key boost will come from the Saudi government's opening up to the private sector, which, in its Vision 2030, envisages an increase in the contribution of private companies to the national GDP of up to 65%, pursued through investment incentive policies that obviously also involve Italian companies.