Lisbon, Aug. 27, 2026 (Lusa) - The chairman of the Saudi Arabia-Portugal Business Council, Alwalid Albaltan, told Lusa that he estimated the number of companies licensed to operate in the Saudi market would exceed 60 by the end of the year.
In addition to members of the Saudi-Portuguese Business Council (which currently represents more than 70 members of the Saudi private sector), the Saudi delegation visiting Portugal also includes the leader of the Federation of Saudi Chambers of Commerce.
«Relations between Saudi Arabia and Portugal have become more diversified. And the Saudi Portuguese Business Council (SPBC) is committed to transforming Saudi interest in Portugal into concrete investment,» emphasised Alwalid Albaltan.
«We have been developing cooperation in areas such as technology and innovation, industry, energy, tourism, healthcare, logistics, property and construction, entrepreneurship and investment» and «on this particular mission, there is a very specific focus on healthcare – without neglecting these other priority sectors», he continued.
But «there is also an important aspect, which is bringing the business ecosystems themselves closer together,» he added, noting that «over the last 14 months, 52 Portuguese companies and organisations have visited Saudi Arabia through official delegations or by taking part in trade fairs and conferences, across a wide range of sectors».
By the end of the year, «the SPBC estimates that the number of Portuguese companies licensed to operate in Saudi Arabia will exceed 60», said Alwalid Albaltan.
Furthermore, «we have also been seeking cooperation at a local level. A concrete example is the partnership between the Eastern Province Municipality and Vila Nova de Gaia, which involves attracting investors for urban and infrastructure projects, the exchange of knowledge and support for public-private partnership models», he explained.
Tourism is another key area: «We have been working on investment opportunities and the hospitality sector, and during this visit we will also be holding a meeting with the Portuguese government minister responsible for Tourism, Trade and Services and with the president of Portugal Tourism.» Alwalid Albaltan noted that both Riyadh and Lisbon are interested in investing in both countries.
«On the Saudi side, we have been identifying concrete investment opportunities in Portugal. As I have already had the opportunity to say, I see Portugal as a diamond in Europe that has not yet been sufficiently discovered by Middle Eastern investment,» he emphasised.
The SPBC chairman highlighted interest in sectors such as property, artificial intelligence (AI), construction, tourism and renewable energy.
«The SPBC's aim is to transform Saudi interest into concrete investment; we have been working directly with Portuguese organisations, companies and municipalities to this end,» he said.
On the Portuguese side, «the trend is equally clear: 52 Portuguese companies and organisations have visited the Kingdom over the last 14 months, and there are companies that are already moving forward with their presence in Saudi Arabia», he noted, citing the example of Tecnimede, with whom he has recently met again «whose strategic plan envisages establishing direct operations in Saudi Arabia by 2028».
Indeed, «the Council's role is precisely to ensure that this interest increasingly translates into investment and concrete projects in both markets», he said.
The focus on the healthcare sector relates «primarily to digital health, clinical artificial intelligence, hospital information and management systems, but also to the pharmaceutical industry, biomedical research and healthcare provision».
The transformation taking place in Saudi Arabia «requires international partners with proven technology and the capacity to deliver», and «we have found in Portugal an ecosystem with particularly interesting expertise in these areas, including companies with international experience and solutions already tested in other markets», he noted.
During this visit, «we are seeing very concrete examples: from artificial intelligence applied to digestive diagnostics by DigestAid, through to hospital information and management systems developed by Ciberbit and ITGest, right through to the pharmaceutical industry, private hospitals, biotechnology and nanotechnology».
ALU/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
