Writing about this topic over the last year has allowed me to witness, almost in real time, the construction of an economic bridge that today is finally starting to gain dimension.

In January, when the memorandum that gave rise to the Portuguese Saudi Business Council (PSBC) and the Saudi Portuguese Business Council (SPBC) was signed in Oeiras, I immediately realized that we were facing something much bigger than an institutional protocol. It was the beginning of a structured, ambitious and, above all, necessary relationship for Portugal. The president of the PSBC, my friend Abílio Alagôa da Silva, played a decisive role in this start and has always involved me in this vision of the future that is now coming to fruition.

I had the opportunity to visit Riyadh this year. It was only once, but it was enough to realize the true scale of the transformation that is underway in Saudi Arabia. It was also during this visit that I became friends with Alwalid Albaltan, president of the SPBC, whose strategic vision and commitment to bringing our countries closer together marked me deeply. I think I will return soon, not only to see friends again, but to continue to closely follow an economic movement that I consider crucial for Portugal.

Saudi Arabia is experiencing a rare moment of economic expansion. Vision 2030 is more than a document. It is pure execution. It is a large-scale investment. It is reimagining an entire country. From tourism to technology, from construction to renewable energy, from agriculture to health, everything is being reinvented. And that is precisely why Saudi interest in investing in Portugal makes so much sense. They are looking for stability, quality, talent, innovation, and access to other markets. Portugal has it all.

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The most encouraging thing is to see that this movement is not just in words. It's in the numbers. Twenty-one Portuguese companies are already established or in the process of registering in Saudi Arabia. Fifteen new memoranda of understanding were signed. Ministers from both countries multiply high-level visits and publicly demonstrate the conviction that this relationship is strategic.

When I write about this in The Portugal News, I also write from what I felt personally. I saw Saudi businessmen genuinely interested in Portugal. I saw openness to collaborate, willingness to invest and respect for who we are and what we know how to do. And I saw, above all, that Portugal has an opportunity here that it cannot waste.

I am proud to have contributed, modestly, to bringing these worlds closer together and helping to give visibility to this movement. And I am even more proud to realize that what I identified in a single trip is now being confirmed by the Portuguese Government itself and by the concrete results that are beginning to emerge.

The potential is there. The relationship is growing. And everything indicates that this will be one of Portugal's great strategic opportunities in the coming years. The best is yet to come, and I will be there to follow, write and, whenever possible, help to build.