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Trade Mission to Saudi Arabia & UAE
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is the largest country in the Gulf region with a population of 36 million, and the largest economy in the Arab World with a GDP of $834 billion. Saudi Arabia is the second largest export market in the Gulf region for U.S good and services; U.S. exports to Saudi Arabia totaled $11.4 billion in 2022. Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Program (NTP) suggest a paradigm shift from a public sector-driven economy to one where job creation and economic growth are driven by the private sector. The NTP outlines $4 billion in ICT initiatives over the next five years and $1.5 billion in transportation initiatives over the next four years.
Top opportunities for Virginia exporters to Saudi Arabia include:
- Information and Communications Technology (ICT)
- Defense and Security
- Oil and Gas
- Architecture, Engineering, and Construction
- Transportation and Logistics
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the top U.S. export market in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region and is a critical, regional hub for American companies doing business throughout the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia. Known for its advanced transportation infrastructure, UAE is a recognized trade hub with 75% of the world being reachable within an eight-hour flight. As the leading commercial hub serving the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia, the UAE continues to play a central role as a regional trade, logistics, and tourism hub. The pandemic has driven the UAE to recommit to self-sufficiency and reliability, shifting focus toward renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, indigenous manufacturing base, and investments in education and healthcare. The UAE is embracing the Fourth Industrial Revolution and is driving digitalization from the government level down to enhance its economic security. AI, IoT, Blockchain, and Big Data cut across every industry.
Top opportunities for Virginia exporters to the United Arab Emirates include:
- Aerospace and Defense Equipment
- Environmental Technologies
- Defense
- Design and Construction
- Healthcare Services
- Information and Telecommunications
Registration Deadline
Contact
Frequently Asked Questions
Based on past trade missions, we expect 6-10 Virginia companies to participate. The registration process is ongoing until the trade mission is full or the registration deadline has passed.
The trade mission participation fee is $3,500 per company. The participation fee includes the following:
- Identifying, contacting, and pre-qualifying local distributors, representatives, and/or partners, and organizing your meetings with interested prospects
- A “Doing Business In” briefing on the market(s)
- Your VEDP Trade Mission Leader and in-country consultant on hand during the week to ensure everything runs to plan
- Interpreter (if needed)
All travel expenses, such as airfare, hotels, meals, and individual ground transportation, are paid directly by each participant.
In most cases, you will be traveling independently to the locations of the local companies with which you are meeting. Because most appointments will be held at the companies’ locations, travel and other logistics may prevent each delegate from having a minimum of 3-4 meetings each day of the trade mission.
For travel between meetings, our consultants will recommend the most effective method of transportation. This will likely be a local car/driver.
If required, interpreters will be provided for meetings and are included in your registration fee.
Airline tickets: You book (and pay for) your own airline ticket via a local travel agent or a travel website. If you do not have a travel agent, the Trade Mission Leader can recommend one for you.
Hotels: VEDP will recommend a hotel in each trade mission destination. Each participant is responsible for making their own reservations and paying their own hotel costs. We recommend that all participants stay at the same hotel in order to facilitate logistics and to encourage networking with the group.
Contact your local International Trade Manager or the Trade Mission Leader immediately! We only want you to make the trip if we think there is good market potential for your company. We can perform exploratory market research within a short period of time to verify market potential for you.