Saudi Arabia, Italy Strengthen Economic Partnership with Plans for Joint Business Accelerators
The talks focused on ways to strengthen the current business environment, drawing on Italy’s expertise in streamlining regulations and supporting its thriving SME sector.
Topics
News
- Disrupt-X, Intel, and Rekeep Partner to Advance AI-Driven Sustainability
- Musk Unveils Grokipedia, an AI-Built Alternative to Wikipedia
- Gartner Reveals Top Technology Trends That Will Define 2026
- Saudi Arabia, Italy Strengthen Economic Partnership with Plans for Joint Business Accelerators
- UAE’s Top Families Prioritizing AI and Crypto to Grow Wealth
- Amazon’s Biggest Layoffs Yet Signal an AI-Powered Overhaul
[Image source: Chetan Jha/MITSMR Middle East]
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and Italy are deepening their economic partnership, with a focus on shared business accelerators and easier market access for Italian firms.
A two‑day official visit to Rome on 23-24 October by Dr. Majed Al-Qasabi, Saudi Minister of Commerce and Chairman of the National Competitiveness Center, and senior officials aimed at boosting the economic partnership between the two nations and also supported the Saudi-Italian Business Forum, which gathered around 200 leaders from public and private sectors to explore collaboration opportunities under Saudi Vision 2030.
The key activities included meetings with Italian leaders to boost trade, investments, and knowledge exchange between private sectors. Al-Qasabi visited FENDI’s headquarters to learn about the brand’s global operations and toured the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana to highlight cultural and reputational ties.
Discussions with Italy’s Institutional Reforms and Regulatory Simplification Minister Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati, Deputy Minister Valentino Valentini, and Marco Osnato focused on improving the business environment and streamlining regulations. The delegation explored joint Saudi–Italian business accelerators and plans to attract Italian e-commerce companies to set up in the Saudi market.
In January 2025, Italy signed agreements worth around $10 billion with Saudi Arabia as part of a strengthened strategic partnership.
The Saudi delegation comprised senior officials from the ministries of commerce, investment, and industry and mineral resources, along with representatives from the Public Investment Fund, the Saudi Red Sea Authority, the National Competitiveness Center, the Saudi Business Center, the E-commerce Council, and other state-backed entities.
Saudi Arabia maintains its position as one of Italy’s main partners in the Middle East.
