Madrid has unveiled efforts to raise the level of trade and economic exchange with Riyadh, by developing a new action plan with the Saudi-Spanish Business Council.
Spanish Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Jorge Hevia Sierra told Asharq Al-Awsat that preparations were underway for the fourth meeting of the Joint Economic Cooperation Committee, which is scheduled to be held in Riyadh in 2024.
“Economic and trade relations are of particular importance to us. In 2021, Spanish exports to Saudi Arabia reached nearly $3 billion, while the value of Spanish imports from Saudi Arabia amounted to $5.1 billion,” the ambassador said, noting that Spanish imports were mainly related to oil.
He added: “We must try to increase exchange in other areas. This is something we are working on with our Saudi counterparts. At the same time, we are deploying serious efforts through the Spanish-Saudi Business Council and its new board of directors - an institution in which we have high aspirations.”
Sierra went on to say that the energy field was one of the main areas of bilateral cooperation, pointing to ongoing communication between the Saudi Minister of Energy, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, and Spanish Vice President and Minister of Environmental Transformation Teresa Ribera.
Regarding the volume of joint investments, the Spanish diplomat revealed that exports of Spanish goods increased by 55 percent in 2022, compared to the previous year, while imports increased by 72 percent.
According to the 2022 data, Spain remains the fifth largest EU exporter to Saudi Arabia, after Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, and France, and the fifth EU importer, after Italy, the Netherlands, France, and Poland, the ambassador said.
He pointed out that the balance of Spanish investments in Saudi Arabia reached 483 million euros as of December 31, 2020, according to the latest data issued by the Spanish Investment Register in March 2023.
Citing the same source, Sierra said that the balance of Saudi investments in Spain amounted to 917 million euros until December 2020, that is, 15 percent higher than the figures reported in 2019.
