$5.33 billion.. Saudi Arabia reveals new investment opportunities

Italian Minister of Industry Adolfo Orso said on Monday that his country is discussing with Saudi Arabia establishing joint investments in the automotive, mining, oil and gas, defense, hydrogen and space sectors.

Since taking office in October 2022, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has been seeking to establish closer relations with the Gulf.

Energy industry

Orso's tour in the Gulf region continued until the first of Tuesday, during which he held meetings in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the Emirates.

“Italy and Saudi Arabia are committed to developing a regulatory and industrial framework that supports and accelerates strategic independence in the vital raw materials sector,” Orso said in a statement after his meeting in Riyadh with Khaled Al-Salem, head of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, which helps supervise the development of the energy industry in Saudi Arabia.

He added, "We discussed the possibility of establishing partnerships and joint investments, especially in the mining sector, whether in our countries or in other regions, such as the African continent."

The minister stated that representatives of major companies such as Pirelli, Mir Technimont and Prysmian participated in the meeting.

$5.33 billion

A few days ago, Khalid Al-Falih, Saudi Minister of Investment, said that the northern border region of the Kingdom has about 100 investment opportunities, with a value of about 20 billion riyals ($5.33 billion).

The minister explained that the new opportunities are in contrast to the existing opportunities, whose value is estimated at about 80 billion riyals.

The minister added, in statements on the sidelines of the Northern Border Investment Forum in Saudi Arabia, on Saturday, that the Kingdom is currently working on a new phosphate production project at a cost of 33 billion riyals, a project that will double Saudi Arabia’s capacity to become the third largest phosphate producer in the world.

First free economic zone

He explained that the project would not only convert phosphate into fertilizers, but Saudi Arabia would also work to use it and convert it into chemical products.

On the other hand, in a related context, Al-Falih said that Saudi Arabia is considering establishing the first free economic zone with Iraq, to be located in the border region of Arar.

The Minister hopes that the border region with Iraq will be the first free economic zone of its kind with a neighboring country that is not subject to taxes or fees, and does not apply entry visas, in order to serve investors in Saudi Arabia and Iraq.