Climate change is affecting the water cycle, increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme events such as floods and droughts. Water demand could increase by 30 percent by 2050 compared to 2019 levels. Ensuring a secure water supply will be a crucial challenge of the coming decades.
Saudi Arabia is a leader in the transition to a greener economy, as outlined in “Saudi Vision 2030”. The country has also recently announced major plans to address climate change, such as the “Saudi Green Initiative”, which aims to reduce CO₂ emissions and develop environmental projects. With increasing investments in areas such as artificial intelligence, robotics and smart cities, Saudi Arabia aims to become a technology hub in the Middle East. Also part of the Saudi Vision 2030 is the Neom project, a futuristic and sustainable city that aims to become a global hub for technological, economic and environmental innovation. The Line, part of the Neom project, aims to become the world's largest Smart City, housing up to 9 million people by 2045. It will be powered by 100 percent renewable energy and Artificial Intelligence will play a central role in managing the city.

Riyadh and Neom will be the destination of a Strategic Business Tour with a focus on “Sustainable Water and Smart Cities”, whose objectives include:

• Confrontation with relevant Saudi Arabian Authorities and Government Institutions on the themes of the trip.
• Visit to the visionary city of Neom, still under construction, which represents the largest construction site in the world.
• Collection of best practices and success stories in the water, energy and construction sectors.
• Creation of a platform for future collaborations and discussion of potential investments and partnerships in R&D projects.
• Assessing the contribution of Italian skills and technologies to the extended Saudi water, energy and construction supply chain.

The strategic trip, to be held Feb. 1-6, 2025, is also a great networking opportunity: in fact, it is reserved for a limited number of entrepreneurs, members of top management and top managers; registration is subject to availability and approval of the host institutions and companies. The trip can be partially financed through interprofessional funds.

Participation in the initiative is subject to submission of the application form.
For more information: tel.+39 02 46753.628; Email: viaggi.strategici@ambrosetti.eu