RIYADH, 3 April 2005 — A Dutch trade delegation headed by Minister for Foreign Trade Karien van Gennip met with Saudi officials yesterday and identified at least three concrete actions to further strengthen bilateral ties between Saudi Arabia and the Netherlands.
During the two-day visit here which ends today, Van Gennip met with Riyadh Governor Prince Salman, Commerce and Industry Minister Dr. Hashim Yamani, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al-Naimi and Minister of Transport Dr. Jabara Seraisry.
She was also scheduled to meet with Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) Chairman Prince Saud ibn Thunayan. She told a press conference that her trade delegation agreed with Saudi officials to hold a forum on water in the Kingdom, conduct a road show for big projects and call for lifting the travel advisory against traveling to the Kingdom.
“The Netherlands is knowledgeable about water. It has a lot of experience in this regard because half of our country is below the sea level. We have a lot experience in water purification and so we intend to bring famous water companies to Saudi Arabia in the autumn,” she said.
As for the road show of big projects, she said this will be held in the Netherlands so that Dutch infrastructure and civil engineering companies can bid for big Saudi projects, adding that SABIC made its biggest investment ever in the Netherlands, when it bought the petrochemical division of the Dutch firm DSM in 2002 for $2 billion.
Ger Peerboom, SABIC Europe manager for corporate communications, was part of Van Gennip’s delegation.