Africa and the Middle East

Sustained economic growth, abundant natural resources, the great demand for products and services, and partnership opportunities in sectors such as energy, infrastructure and technology are the most attractive features of this region which remains mainly untapped.

A young and dynamic region

Africa and the Middle East are territories noted for having emerging economies; some such as South African or the United Arab Emirates are becoming ever more important players internationally. They are regions with vast resources of raw materials – minerals in Africa and energy in the Middle East; they are therefore regions that mainly supply raw materials for foreign industries.

Due to the energy crisis in Europe and the trade embargo of Russia, the Middle East has become a highly competitive energy exporter on the European market. Furthermore, several countries within the Middle East are focusing on diversifying their economies; these include the United Arab Emirates, Israel and Saudi Arabia, which are working on developing high tech industries.

The outlook for these regions is good, despite both experiencing times of political instability, particularly due to the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Middle East. Africa is one of the main exporters of raw materials and some of its countries are posting the highest and sustained growth rates of the last decade. Their economic growth and domestic demand are therefore expected to continue and become more important over the coming years.

Basque business is already present in the Middle East and Africa, with significant energy projects in the pipeline, and great potential in the railway and infrastructure sectors, in particular in the development of ports and airports, in the steel sector and in the provision of advanced services.