RIYADH, 5 September — A three-day Saudi export forum that begins in the Dutch city of Rotterdam on Sept. 17 is significant as it is the first time that the Kingdom is launching its export promotion drive from Europe, said Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Zamil, leader of the 14-member Saudi delegation.
He said the forum, sponsored by Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) and the Saudi Hollandi Bank, would represent the Kingdom’s petrochemical, consumer, agricultural, industrial and construction sectors.
The focus of the forum will be on the Kingdom’s export potential in the non-oil sector and the future of the Saudi economy against the background of the economic reform program.
Al-Zamil will be one of the keynote speakers whose presentation will be on "Saudi exports and opportunities to establish export-oriented industries."
Other lectures will be on "SABIC experience in exports and investment" by Mohammad Al-Deghaither of SABIC, "the Saudi-Dutch business relations" and "the financing aspects of trade between Saudi Arabia and Europe" by Henk-Jan Hoogendoorn and Ahmed Ismail of the Saudi Hollandi Bank, and the Saudi export program by Salih Al-Addad of the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD).
Al-Zamil, who is the chairman of the Saudi Export Development Center and the Al-Zamil Group of Industries, underscored the importance of SFD in the delegation as it had a new mandate to support the Kingdom’s import substitution drive.
Speaking on behalf of the Saudi Hollandi Bank, Jan Hoogendoorn said the bank was delighted to be the sponsor of the forum. The Netherlands is one of Saudi Arabia’s main trading partners and the Saudi Hollandi Bank is the most important bank in the Kingdom with regard to trade services and trade finance.
"There is room for further expansion of trade relations between the two countries. These relations date back to the establishment of the Saudi Hollandi Bank through its predecessor, the Dutch Trading Society. It was in fact the first bank in the Kingdom."
W.L. (Frits) Zaat, head of the economic and commercial department at the Netherlands Embassy, said senior government officials would receive the Saudi delegation for talks aimed at diversifying trade relations.
Currently, according to the embassy official, Dutch exports to the Kingdom stood at 822 million euros this year, up 20 percent over 2001.
Zaat said agricultural products constituted 30 percent of Dutch exports to the Kingdom. "This export forum is very important for both countries, since Rotterdam is the gateway to Europe."
He said his country was catching up with the international trend of introducing English as the medium of instruction for higher studies. This would enable Saudi students to pursue higher education in the Netherlands.
Zaat added that at the embassy’s initiative a team of Saudi journalists would be visiting Amsterdam in December to interact with the Dutch media and correct the misconceptions about Saudi Arabia in the Dutch press.
