22/06/2011
Spanish Firms Offer Consultancy Services
Spanish delegation looks for partnerships in infrastructure
A Spanish trade mission led by Mr. Luis Abellan Sanchez, Foreign Trade Specialist of the Spanish Embassy in Riyadh visited today the Eastern Province offering mainly engineering consultancy and services. Members of the mission met with representatives of local leading companies at Asharqia Chamber and discussed possible cooperation to participate in various economic development projects of the Kingdom.
Mr. Sanchez identified a number of sectors in which Saudi and Spanish companies could establish partnerships for their mutual benefits. They are mainly infrastructure, public works and civil works, transportation, communications, renewable energy and water sectors. In these sectors, he said, Spain has expertise and technology to offer to the Kingdom. Spain has also traditionally been very competitive in equipment manufacturing, food processing, building materials and textiles, added Mr. Sanchez.
He noted that Spanish investments in Saudi Arabia reached its peak in 2010. During the period, Spanish direct investments into the Kingdom amounted to 60 million euro. In addition, the number of Spanish exporters registered in the Kingdom last year was more than 30. There are also a good number of Saudi-Spanish joint ventures estimated at aazround 25 particularly in certain strategic sectors, such as construction, pointed out Mr. Sanchez.
Trade exchanges between the two countries have gone up conspicuously. In 2010, Spanish exports to Saudi Arabia reached 1.046 million euro, nearly 20% more than the previous year, making the Kingdom the largest destination of Spanish exports in the Gulf region. Spanish imports from Saudi Arabia also jumped to 3.540 million euro in 2010 from 2.425 million euro in 2009, reflecting the end of the economic slump affecting Spain between 2008 and 2009.
