Rui Gonçalves, marketing director at a lighting company, has been living in Saudi Arabia for four years and found “a very friendly and pleasant people, very similar to the Portuguese.”
Similarly, Rui Fonseca, 48, admitted that adapting to the kingdom, where he arrived in 2016, was “much quicker” than he expected.
“Saudis are extremely helpful and welcoming, and that makes all the difference. They are always available to help, even in simple tasks like opening a bank account, transferring the European driving license, looking for a house, finding places to visit or activities. The effort to facilitate integration and make it as smooth as possible is evident,” reported Rui Fonseca, who works for a multinational in the mechanical engineering sector.
In 2022, his wife and three children, who attend international schools, joined him, allowing them to “gain world,” he shared.
Nuno Pacheco, a sales manager at an event transmission company, moved to Riyadh three years ago after a decade in Qatar. Initially, he found it strange that he couldn’t go for a morning run in a sleeveless T-shirt and shorts. “Over time, I adapted and now I feel good, comfortable in my daily life,” he said.
João Canas, leading a coastal protection project in Neom, the ‘futuristic city’ on the Red Sea coast, believes that “Arabic and Portuguese cultures have more factors that unite us than divide us.”
An interesting aspect that even helps “break the ice” is the linguistic issue: “There are between 600 to 1,000 shared words between Portuguese and Arabic, which makes for funny conversations and eases interaction and inclusion.”
Portuguese residents in Saudi Arabia unanimously comment on the fast-paced transformation the country, home to around 36 million people, is undergoing due to the ‘Vision 2030’, a strategic plan launched in 2016 by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman to diversify the economy beyond oil.
João Canas summarizes: “They are moving towards the future at a fast pace.”
Designer Tiago Sousa states that Saudi Arabia is “the ‘country of fashion’ and is increasingly making its presence felt internationally.”
“The country opened up to the world very recently and has had a brutal evolution on all levels,” the designer noted.
For Tiago Sousa, the country has “a great eagerness for everything.”
Contrary to Europe, which is “in a complicated and stagnant phase,” he remarked, Saudi Arabia “wants to invest, increasingly invests in people and modernization.”
With over 60% of the population under 35, young people are “very curious about everything from abroad,” he added.
Rui Gonçalves agrees: “It is a historic moment and we are witnessing all the transformations.”
Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, “has everything to accomplish.”
“There is money and will. This is the ideal moment to be here,” he stated.
“I see a country changing very quickly. Social changes are clear, there is more openness, more opportunities, especially for the young, and the environment is increasingly modern. Economically, there are many investments in technology, sports, events, infrastructure,” said Nuno Pacheco.
Rui Fonseca describes as “impressive” the “commitment, scale, and acceptance of the changes that ‘Vision 2030’ is bringing to the kingdom.”
There is also social progress: women have been allowed to work and drive, and the crown prince eliminated the requirement for them to be covered.
However, the overwhelming majority still wear the ‘chador’, a long black garment, in many cases showing only the eyes, which is justified by family tradition.
“The emancipation and empowerment of women is real. Some stopped receiving subsidies to stay at home and started being an asset for the country’s development,” said João Canas.
The specialist draws a comparison with post-Salazar dictatorship Portugal.
“There is a great attempt to attract investment and improve the country’s perception and reputation to the world. Our seclusion was quite long and only two, three generations ago we began to have some openness. They are a bit in that phase, although with completely different political regimes,” he commented.
Events like Expo2030 and the 2034 World Cup, within ‘Vision 2030’, “are catapulting Saudi Arabia to the world and are the driving force for the creation of infrastructure and services,” which are being developed “at a frantic pace.”
