Lisbon, Aug. 27, 2026 (Lusa) - Four Portuguese healthcare companies – DigestAId, Ciberbit, ITGest and NB Clinic – are set to sign memoranda with Saudi Arabia on Monday, Alwalid Albaltan, chairman of the Saudi Arabia-Portugal Business Council, told Lusa.
«The memoranda will be signed on 31 August at the business confederation, CIP, with DigestAId, Ciberbit, ITGest and NB Clinic,» he said.
At an institutional level, two further memoranda will be signed: one with OVIA – Oeiras Valley Investment Agency – and another with AIP – the Portuguese Industrial Association.
The signing of these memoranda follows the Saudi delegation's visit to Portugal.
«In addition to members of the Saudi Arabia–Portugal Business Council (which currently represents more than 70 members of the Saudi private sector), the delegation now visiting Portugal also includes Sultan M. AlMusallam, leader of the Federation of Saudi Chambers,» said Alwalid Albaltan.
This is a mission «with a strong business focus, and the first of its kind in the sector, which seeks to build bridges with Portuguese companies, institutions and organisations and to turn identified opportunities into concrete partnerships and projects», he continued.
To this end, in the private sector, on 31 August, «four memoranda of understanding will be signed with Portuguese companies that are developing solutions in the healthcare sector».
A further two will be signed with OVIA and AIP, «aimed at opening up new opportunities for cooperation and investment in the private sector and strengthening cooperation between the two business ecosystems».
According to the president of the Saudi Portuguese Business Council (SPBC), «these two institutional memoranda will be signed by the Federation of Saudi Chambers».
For Alwalid Albaltan, there is «a very interesting complementarity» between the two countries.
During this visit, «we are meeting companies and institutions in Portugal with specialist knowledge and solutions that have already been tested internationally» and, «at the same time, Saudi Arabia is realising the ambition of Vision 2030, which creates opportunities for investment, technology and new models of cooperation in a digital health market that is growing in the Kingdom».
In the healthcare sector, «we have identified expertise in Portugal in areas crucial to Saudi Arabia's transformation: digital health, clinical artificial intelligence, hospital management and biomedical research», and the «aim is for this interest to develop into concrete business projects».
In Lisbon, «we began our working week with an institutional visit to INSA and, over two days in Porto, we will be getting to know key institutions at first hand, such as Industrial Laborum Ibérica, the Trofa Saúde hospital, the School of Biotechnology – Católica Porto Business School, and the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, amongst others», he explained.
In the tourism sector, «we also want to bring the two markets closer together», which is why «during this visit we will be holding meetings with the secretary of state for Tourism, Trade and Services, Pedro Machado, and with the President of the Portuguese Tourism Board, Carlos Abade».
For Alwalid Albaltan, «there is potential to deepen cooperation in tourism and hotel investment and in connectivity between the two countries».
«We want this cooperation to enable the creation of joint projects, increase bilateral investment, promote the transfer of technology and knowledge, and support companies from both countries in their internationalisation,» emphasised the president of the SPBC.
Established in 2024, the Council serves as a strategic platform for dialogue, partnership and cooperation between the business communities of the two countries.
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