Development of the DRUPA, K and Interpack trade shows into Saudi Arabia has been confirmed following a visit by Riyadh Exhibitions chairman Prince Saud Turki Al-Faisal Al Saud.

A handshake during a royal visit to the plastics and rubber trade fair confirmed the strategic partnership in the Middle East with Messe Düsseldorf.

Pictured with the prince is Messe Düsseldorf management board chair Wolfram Diener.

Riyadh Exhibitions is organising the Saudi Plastics & Petrochem and Saudi Print & Pack trade fairs there from April 12-15, 2026, with more than 500 exhibitors expected.

Diener says the new presence in Riyadh “perfectly complements” Messe Düsseldorf's existing international portfolio – in the plastics and rubber sector with ‘K Alliance’, in the processing and packaging segment with ‘Interpack alliance’ and in the print technologies sector with ‘DRUPA Alliance’.

“We are in the right place at the right time,” he says. “With our commitment to the world's fastest-growing trade fair market, we are strengthening our position as one of the most successful international trade fair companies. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are diversifying their economies, which opens up numerous points of contact for our broad trade fair portfolio and new potential for our customers.”

Saudi Arabia’s industry and mineral resources Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef is currently visiting K 2025, having visited DRUPA in Düsseldorf in 2024.