In 2025, the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Italy moved beyond traditional trade and energy ties. At the Saudi Italian Business Forum in Riyadh, ministers, CEOs and industry leaders from both countries gathered not just to talk, but to negotiate concrete deals across energy, infrastructure, logistics, and increasingly, real estate.
With Vision 2030 driving one of the world’s most ambitious transformation programs, and Italy seeking new growth markets and strategic partners, the forum has become a key platform where geopolitics, business, and long-term investment interests intersect.
For investors, the real question is: what does this mean on the ground, especially for property and urban development in Saudi Arabia?
Objectives of the Saudi Italian Business Forum
The Objectives of the Saudi Italian Business Forum go far beyond a ceremonial dialogue. The forum is designed to:
- Deepen strategic economic cooperation in line with Vision 2030.
- Channel Italian industrial strengths – engineering, infrastructure, design, machinery, energy technology – into Saudi Arabia’s giga-projects and economic zones.
- Create a structured B2B bridge through curated meetings, sector sessions and matchmaking, instead of one-off delegations.
- Support diversification on both sides:
- Saudi Arabia away from oil
- Italy toward long-term non-EU markets
- Link geopolitics to investable projects, positioning Italy as an EU gateway for Saudi capital, and Saudi Arabia as a Gulf hub for Italian companies.
Agreements of the Saudi Italian Business Forum
The Agreements of the Saudi Italian Business Forum are where strategy becomes execution. Recent editions have produced multiple MoUs and investment agreements, especially in:
- Energy & renewables – powering new industrial and urban clusters.
- Infrastructure & construction – roads, utilities, transit, and large-scale building programs.
- Transport, logistics & ports – which later demand warehouses, logistics parks and commercial assets.
- Advanced manufacturing & Industry 4.0 – creating long-term demand for industrial and logistics real estate.
This is precisely where a specialist platform like Bayut-KSA’s Investment Hub becomes relevant by tracking how these high-level agreements show up as specific hospitality, industrial, residential and mixed-use opportunities across Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah, Madinah and other cities.
What Is the Value of Italian Investments in Saudi Arabia?
When we ask this question, we are looking for more than headline FDI figures. There are several layers:
- Direct capital investments in infrastructure, construction, energy and manufacturing.
- Project-based involvement of Italian contractors, designers and engineering firms in Saudi mega- and giga-projects.
- Export-credit and guarantee frameworks that enable Italian companies to take on larger roles in Saudi projects.
Much of this activity touches real estate, whether through:
- hotels and tourism developments,
- industrial estates and logistics hubs,
- or urban regeneration and waterfront projects.
Also read about Saudi Syrian Investment with Bayut-KSA.
Outcomes of the Saudi Italian Business Forum 2025
The outcomes can be viewed along three main lines:
1. Deal Flow
- Multiple cooperation and investment agreements signed across energy, infrastructure, logistics, tourism and innovation.
- Strong participation from both public and private sectors, signalling long-term commitment rather than symbolic engagement.
2. Sector Positioning
- Italy is cementing itself as a serious partner in sectors central to Vision 2030 – energy transition, sustainable infrastructure, tourism and culture.
- Saudi Arabia is reinforcing its position as a priority market for Italian companies, especially those seeking scale beyond Europe.
3. Real Estate Implications
- More international-grade projects entering Saudi pipelines, particularly in:
- hospitality and tourism-led developments,
- mixed-use urban districts,
- industrial and logistics corridors.
- Greater scope for joint ventures, design collaborations and technology transfer in construction and property development.
Bayut-KSA: Your Trusted Partner
All of this raises a practical question for investors: how do you move from forum headlines to real opportunities?
Bayut-KSA’s Investment Hub helps by:
- Translating macro-Saudi–Italian agreements into specific city- and corridor-level opportunities
- Highlighting key real estate segments – logistics, industrial, hospitality, residential and mixed-use
- Guiding investors through the evolving regulatory and ownership landscape
The Saudi Italian Business Forum is building a strategic bridge between Riyadh and Rome; Bayut-KSA’s Investment Hub helps you see where that bridge lands – and how to find, assess and act on the assets along it.
