Sri Lanka’s economic engagement with Saudi Arabia gathered strong momentum in 2025, delivering measurable gains in exports, trade volumes, tourism, and overseas employment at a time when the island nation is prioritising external sector recovery.
Exports from Sri Lanka to Saudi Arabia rose by 19 percent between January and September 2025, compared with the same period in 2024, while total bilateral trade expanded by 9 percent, reflecting deepening commercial ties between the two economies. The growth was driven by a coordinated trade-promotion strategy led by the Sri Lankan Embassy in Riyadh in partnership with multiple state institutions.
“This double-digit export growth in 2025 is an outstanding achievement and reflects sustained, well-coordinated efforts to position Sri Lankan products competitively in the Saudi market,” Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ameer Ajwad said, noting that trade exhibitions and business matchmaking played a key role.
Saudi Arabia remains a major destination for Sri Lankan tea, spices, fruits, vegetables, coconut-based products, processed foods including frozen seafood, construction materials, and consumer goods. In parallel, Sri Lanka continues to import energy and other essential commodities from the Kingdom, underlining the strategic importance of the trade relationship.
Private-sector engagement intensified in 2025, with ten Sri Lankan business delegations visiting Saudi Arabia across sectors such as food and beverages, agriculture, construction materials, tourism, furniture, and manpower services. The launch of Ceylon Biscuits Ltd. products in the Saudi market further strengthened Sri Lanka’s branded export presence.
A landmark institutional development was the creation of the first Saudi Sri Lanka Joint Business Council, launched in November 2025, aimed at facilitating structured dialogue, investment flows, and private-sector partnerships. Tourism and manpower roadshows, held after multi-year gaps, reopened key channels for foreign exchange inflows and employment opportunities.
Together, these initiatives signal a more strategic and diversified partnership that supports Sri Lanka’s export earnings, employment generation, and long-term economic engagement with the Middle East.
