Basque companies exported EUR 1.130 billion to the Middle East by 2025, 3.8% of the total
The exports of the Basque Autonomous Community (CAV) to the Middle East amounted to EUR 1.130 billion by 2025, representing 3.8% of the total sales of the Basque Country abroad, from which EUR 746 million were imported last year.
In addition, 42 Basque companies have 63 implantations in different countries in the Middle East, according to the analysis carried out by the Basque Trade & Investment - International Basque Agency.
The report includes trade relations with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar and Yemen, including the commercial role of the United Arab Emirates with the Basque Country, to which more than half of Basque exports (€571.5 million) are directed.
As far as the political context is concerned, on Monday, following the US attack on the region, the President, Imanol Pradales, declared that the Basque Government is already monitoring the situation.
The analysis of the Basque Agency for Internationalization highlights that, throughout history, trade relations between the Basque Country and the Middle East have been "volatile", with "significant fluctuations", especially in imports. The main explanation is the "imbalances" associated with the volatility of the oil market and prices.
In particular, the trade balance in the first decade of 2000 was "totally negative," and the situation intensified between 2005 and 2011 with a significant increase in imports. Exports also grew, albeit to a lesser extent. In 2011 there was a "very strong" increase in imports, while the following year there was a "sharp adjustment," with a "sharp" drop in purchases to the Middle East.
Starting in 2013, the situation stabilized with a positive balance for the ACV, and the report notes that Basque exports "gained more weight" as dependence on crude oil in the Middle East declined.
2025 exports
In 2025, the Middle East was the seventh destination of Basque exports worldwide: €1.130 billion, representing 3.8% of total exports.
Within the region, 50.56 per cent of sales went to the United Arab Emirates (571.5 million euros), followed by Saudi Arabia (291.5 million euros) and Israel (12 per cent). In the rest of the country, the weight of exports was generally lower, with Qatar being one of the main exceptions (4.27 per cent, 48.3 million euros).
By product, the main export sections were railway material (29.1 per cent), equipment (19.6 per cent) and vehicles (9.1 per cent).
Imports
Imports from the Middle East to the Basque Country amounted to EUR 746 million by 2025, representing 2.8% of total imports into the Basque Country.
More than half of imports into the Basque Country came from Kuwait (€378.2 million), followed by Saudi Arabia (14.7%; €109.7 million) and Iraq (12.15%; €90.6 million).
With regard to products, more than three-quarters of imports relate to fuels (oil), followed by equipment (14 per cent) and the casting and manufacture of iron and steel (4 per cent).
Established companies
In total, 42 Basque companies have 63 implantations in different countries in the Middle East, of which 48 are commercial and 15 are productive.
Specifically, the United Arab Emirates has 35 settlements, and Saudi Arabia has 14.
With this data, the Middle East would be the thirteenth destination of the Basque Country's settlements according to the established number. For individual countries, the United Arab Emirates ranks seventeenth in the overall ranking.
By sector, Consulting and Engineering predominates, with four production and seven commercial settlements, followed by Energy, with three production and eight commercial settlements, and, finally, the advanced manufacturing sector, with eleven commercial settlements.
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