Saudi Arabia Plans Promotion Campaign in Kuwait

The Saudi Export Development Authority’s pavilion at an exhibition (Export Development Authority website)
The Saudi Export Development Authority’s pavilion at an exhibition (Export Development Authority website)
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Saudi Arabia Plans Promotion Campaign in Kuwait

The Saudi Export Development Authority’s pavilion at an exhibition (Export Development Authority website)
The Saudi Export Development Authority’s pavilion at an exhibition (Export Development Authority website)

The Saudi Export Development Authority is scheduled to begin a promotion campaign in Kuwait from September 29 until October 1 as part of a broader strategy to enhance national service export opportunities through targeted market access tours.
According to the Authority, the tour will feature a series of visits for leading national companies across various sectors, including logistics services, communications and information technology, consulting, and medical services.
These companies will showcase their offerings to both government and private entities in Kuwait, fostering increased trade between the two nations.
The tour is also expected to bolster the presence of Saudi non-oil products and services in the Kuwaiti market, where Saudi exports exceeded 3.7 billion Saudi rial ($986.36 million) in the first half of 2024.
Saudi Exports spokesman Thamer Al-Meshrafi said that through the tour in the Kuwaiti market, the Authority aims to establish links between the Saudi exporters and the Kuwaiti importers and facilitate mechanisms of the non-oil exports to Kuwait.
Al-Meshrafi added that the overall Saudi service experts in 2023 hit 182 billion riyals ($479 million), rising by 40% as compared to the previous year.
Several prominent national companies from the services sector will participate in the tour alongside representatives from four government agencies: the Zakat, Tax, and Customs Authority; the Digital Government Authority; the Transport General Authority; and the Saudi Contractors Authority.

 



Saudi Giga-project Diriyah Agrees Deals Worth $1 bln with European Firms, Says CEO

Jerry Inzerillo, Group CEO of the Diriyah Gate Authority reacts during the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, April 28, 2024. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo
Jerry Inzerillo, Group CEO of the Diriyah Gate Authority reacts during the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, April 28, 2024. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo
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Saudi Giga-project Diriyah Agrees Deals Worth $1 bln with European Firms, Says CEO

Jerry Inzerillo, Group CEO of the Diriyah Gate Authority reacts during the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, April 28, 2024. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo
Jerry Inzerillo, Group CEO of the Diriyah Gate Authority reacts during the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, April 28, 2024. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo

Diriyah, one of Saudi Arabia's giga-projects, has agreed deals worth nearly $1 billion with European firms and is in talks to attract more foreign capital, its CEO said.

Diriyah, located at a UNESCO World Heritage site outside the capital Riyadh, has been backed by PIF investments worth a total of around 20 billion riyals ($5.33 billion) in 2023 and 2024, and should get 12 billion riyals more next year, its CEO said.

It has recently agreed deals worth nearly $1 billion in total with an Italian developer and a French company and is in talks with several foreign investors looking to buy equity stakes in hotels and other real estate developments, Jerry Inzerillo told Reuters in New York this week.

"There's a lot of interest from America, a lot of interest from every country," he said. "We'll work with any country that can deliver quality and stay on time."

Foreign investors have already bought stakes in several projects in Diriyah, said Inzerillo, with more to come.

"A lot of people can see that it's built, it's doable; it's no longer renderings, no longer 'you wait and see' ... So now we're seeing a big spike in interest in foreign investment".

Inzerillo said investment priorities have changed because of upcoming events such as the Expo 2030 world fair, which Riyadh last year won the right to host. But the pace and scope of the Saudi giga-projects have not been scaled back, he said.

"It's a realignment, a re-prioritization ... not a reduction," he added.