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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 over 36M people. It also has the region’s largest economy, with a nominal GDP of approximately $1.27T. Guided by Vision 2030, the Kingdom continues to shift from an oil dependent, public sector driven model toward a diversified, private sector led economy. The National Transformation Program (NTP) plays a central role in this transition, supporting digital transformation, infrastructure development, and the expansion of high growth sectors through significant increases in ICT investment and transport infrastructure under the 2025 national budget. In recognition of its strengthened global profile, Saudi Arabia was awarded the right to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup, one of the world’s largest sporting events. Virginia exports to Saudi Arabia in 2024 were valued at $101M.
The top opportunities for Virginia exporters to Saudi Arabia include:
- Agriculture
- Defense & Security
- Healthcare
- Information and Communications Technology (ICT)
- Oil, Gas, and Petrochemicals
- Power
- Waste Management
- Water
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the top U.S. export market in the Middle East North Africa region and is a critical, regional hub for U.S. companies doing business throughout the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and Asia. Known for its advanced transportation infrastructure, the UAE is a recognized trade hub with 75% of the world being reachable within an eight-hour flight. The UAE is embracing the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), the country’s national strategy and ecosystem dedicated to adopting advanced, interconnected technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, biotechnology, blockchain, and autonomous systems to transform its economy, government, and society. Virginia exports to the UAE in 2024 were valued at $256M.
The top opportunities for Virginia exporters to the United Arab Emirates include:
- Aerospace and Aviation
- Clean Tech and Environmental Technologies
- Defense
- Design and Construction
- Digital and Information Communication Technology (ICT)
- Healthcare and Life Science
- Oil and Gas
- Renewable Energy and Clean Energy
- Smart and Sustainable Mobility
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.
You must pay the trade mission participation fee of $2,500 to the VEDP at the time of registration. The participation fee includes the following:
- Identifying, contacting and pre-qualifying local distributors, reps and/or partners and organization of 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 including airfare, hotels, meals, individual ground transportation to be paid directly by each participant. Additional estimated costs you will incur include (but are not limited to):
- Roundtrip airfare
- Hotels (7 nights)
- Meals
- Airport transfers, taxis, and other miscellaneous items
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 local travel agent or online air travel website. If you do not have a travel agent, the Trade Mission Leader can recommend one for you.
Hotels: VEDP will choose the hotel(s) and make reservations at a pre-negotiated government rate for each delegate. However, delegates will be responsible for their own hotel charges throughout the mission. All delegates will stay at the same hotel in order to facilitate logistics as well as to encourage the interaction and networking that is always a collateral benefit of traveling with a group. You will pay all hotel room charges directly to the hotel.
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.