As the Netherlands celebrates its National Day today, it’s riding the crest of excellent bilateral ties with Saudi Arabia. This can be attributed to the fact that it has never slackened its efforts in continuously strengthening its relationship with the Kingdom in all fields of endeavor.
Noting the well-known and well-established relationship between the two countries in the different fields, Dutch Ambassador Nicolaas Beets sketched out new developments in the cultural sector.
“There are 78 Saudi students currently enrolled in various Dutch universities. Next year, we’re expecting the number to cross 250,” said Beets, adding that there are also Dutch students presently pursuing Islamic studies in Saudi Arabia.
Of the 78 students, eight are females pursuing medical studies at the Maastricht University (Southern Holland) and Groningen University (Northern Holland).
“Both universities have a full-time team, managing and assisting Saudi students with program issues as well as personal matters (individual approach),” the envoy said.
According to a contract between the Ministry of Higher Education and the two universities (under umbrella of the King Abdullah Scholarship Program), the period of study is seven years.
The two universities have also offered bike classes to students because millions of Dutch are biking. Before starting their medical studies, the students will attend a one-year course to improve their English and to learn Dutch language and pass the preparatory period before joining the Faculty of Medicine.
During the first year Dutch families will host the students in order to be exposed to the Dutch culture and way of life.
The coming academic year 30 Saudi students are assigned by the Ministry of Higher Education to study Engineering in Delft, one of the oldest universities in Holland, and more students are expected to be going to the Netherlands to study computer science, accountancy, marketing and engineering. Recently, the Saudi Dutch Education Center (SAUDEC) was founded in order to foster relationship between the opportunities offered by the Dutch education system and the needs of the Saudi labor market.
From the Saudi side, there is a growing demand for high and midlevel training abroad, especially in important sectors as oil and gas, engineering and life sciences.
Beets said that the Saudi Higher Education and its Dutch counterpart are pushing to the maximum limits possible their collaboration for the benefit of both Dutch and Saudi students.
In the diplomatic field, Beets said that Dr. Philip De Heer, secretary-general of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, received a warm reception some time back while on a visit to the Kingdom and he made a tour of the Institute of Islamic Studies. He was warmly received by Prince Turki ibn Faisal.
In the trade sector, Beets said that the bilateral trade touches 3 billion euros. “Saudi Arabia is the biggest export market for the Netherlands in the Middle East,” he said. Official records show that Netherlands was the 13th largest exporter to the Kingdom in 2004 and the fourth biggest investor in Saudi Arabia in 2005.
There are also 30 Dutch-Saudi joint ventures, which include the Saudi Hollandi Bank(SHB), Shell Saudi Arabia, among others.
SHB, the first bank in Saudi Arabia, is now a joint venture firm between the Dutch banking firm ABN AMRO and Saudi investors. Shell has also been in the Kingdom for many years and is involved in refining, marketing operations and petrochemicals.
Shell and Saudi Aramco are partners in a Jubail refinery. Saudi Aramco is the world’s No. 1 exporter of crude oil with Western Europe as an important market, with Holland as its center of operations. Both Aramco and SABIC have their European headquarters in Holland.
SABIC is a large investor in the Dutch petrochemical industry. It is the largest public company in the Middle East, ranked by market capitalization (more than $5.1 billion), and one of the world’s top largest petrochemicals manufacturers. It is among the world’s market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene, glycols, methanol, and fertilizers as well as the fourth largest polymer producer.
Its profit rose to a record SR19.2 billion ($5.1 billion) in 2005, up 35 percent from the previous year.