JEDDAH, 10 January 2005 — German citizens in Jeddah received an e-mail yesterday from German Consul General Dr. Stephan Keller saying that the consulate would close on Jan. 13 for security reasons until further notice.
The note stated that after the attack on the US Consulate last month, a re-evaluation of security measures at their present offices in the Crowne Plaza Hotel found that security is not enough. The consulate will be closed temporarily and all consulate business and visa transactions will be done at the embassy in Riyadh. When a more secure location is found, the consulate will reopen.
The new consulate will only serve German citizens in Jeddah in emergency situations; other consulate business, including visa processing, will be done in Riyadh.
Arab News contacted Dr. Keller for details but he refused to comment and referred us to the embassy in Riyadh. “We are planning to have a bigger permanent building in Jeddah so we need to arrange things. The embassy will be responsible for visa processing and the new consulate will take care of economic affairs and the Saudi German School in Jeddah,” said Dr. Gerhard Schrombgans, the German ambassador.
He said the plans had been under way and that even though they have not received any threats, the temporary closure had been prompted by recent events. “This is a worldwide directive that all official buildings have to take into account security measures,” he said.
“I’m not surprised at the decision but I don’t understand why they moved to the Crowne Plaza less than a year ago thinking it was secure without checking security measures,” said Hans, a German citizen working in Jeddah. “As German citizens, we are not affected by the transfer of visa processing to Riyadh but I’m sure it will be a problem for many others.”
Suad, a woman who frequently travels to Germany for vacations, studying and medical care, said: “These new visa procedures are certainly an inconvenience but what can we do?”
