The Netherlands and Saudi Arabia have been enjoying excellent diplomatic relationship over the years and this goes a long time back, according to Dutch Ambassador Nicolaas Beets.
Already in 1926, then Prince Faisal ibn Abdulaziz, who later became king, visited the Netherlands. Much earlier, a Dutch Consulate was established in Jeddah in 1872 to serve pilgrims from Indonesia and who had come for Umrah or Haj in Saudi Arabia.
Moreover, Dutch nationals obtained permission to settle in the Arabia Peninsula in 1614.
After the independence of Indonesia, the relations between the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia shifted away from pilgrimage issues to fostering bilateral and business relations.
Over the years, the friendship binding the two kingdoms has grown from strength to strength, with their officials visiting each other as if in continuation of a long tradition.
On May 16-17, a Dutch delegation from the water sector will visit Saudi Arabia, during which the former will share with the latter its own experience of more than 1,000 years of water management. As early as the year 1200, the so-called water boards were already established in the Netherlands.
These are still responsible for managing the country’s water level with an ingenious system of dikes, locks, dams and pumping stations which aim to keep the country flood-free since much of it lies below sea-level.
The Kingdom’s water sector will require SR200 billion ($53 billion) in investments by the year 2000 to keep up with the Kingdom’s growing consumption.
Recently, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Affairs Laurens Jan Brinkhorst visited Saudi Arabia. At the same time a delegation from the province of Limburg and SABIC-Europe was in Riyadh, including Leon Frissen, the Queen’s commissioner for the province of Limburg and Jean Broncker, mayor of the City of Sittard-Geleen.
Deputy Prime Minister Brinkhorst visited the headquarters of the Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) and was received by Prince Saud ibn Abdullah ibn Thunayan Al- Saud, chairman of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu and SABIC chairman.
The delegation was briefed on SABIC’s strategies and future plans to develop its national contributions and strengthen its competitive capabilities in global markets, including future investments in the Netherlands.
Moreover, Dutch Foreign Minister Barnard Bot also visited the Kingdom last February and met with his local counterpart, Prince Saud Al-Faisal, and other Saudi officials.
In April 2004, Foreign Trade Minister Karien van Gennip also came for a visit at the invitation of the Saudi government and held talks with local officials on bilateral trade and other issues of mutual interests.
In March 2006, Saudi Deputy Minister for Higher Education Abdullah Al-Moyel also visited the Netherlands to meet his counterpart, make a tour of educational facilities and explore the opportunities for a student exchange program.
In the trade sector, bilateral trade touches almost $3 billion, according to Rob Dekker, head of economic and commercial affairs at the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Riyadh.
“Saudi Arabia is the biggest export market for Netherlands in the Middle East. The most recent statistics show that the Netherlands was the 13th largest exporter to the Kingdom in 2004,” he said.
Moreover, according to the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), the Netherlands was the fourth biggest investor in Saudi Arabia in 2005.
Dutch firms’ export products to the Kingdom through some 200 local companies and there are some 30 Dutch-Saudi joint ventures. These include well-known companies such as Saudi Hollandi Bank, Shell Saudi Arabia, among others.
Saudi Hollandi Bank, which is the first bank in the Kingdom, is now a joint venture firm between the Dutch banking firm ABN AMRO, and Saudi investors. Only last week, it celebrated its 80th anniversary. Shell has also been in the Kingdom for many years and is involved in the refining, marketing operations and petrochemicals.
The companies of Shell in Saudi Arabia include the Shell Overseas Services Ltd. Saudi Arabia, Middle East and Central Asian States, Shell Arabia Car Services Ltd., Al Jomaih & Shell Lubricating Oil Company Ltd., South Rub Al-Khali Company Ltd., Saudi Aramco Shell Refinery Company, Saudi Arabia Markets & Shell Lubricants Company Ltd., Peninsular Aviation Services Company, and Shell Global Solutions.
Shell and Saudi Aramco are partners in a Jubail refinery. Saudi Aramco is the world’s number one 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. SABIC is the largest public company in the Middle East, ranked by market capitalization (more than $5.1 billion), and one of the world’s 10 largest petrochemicals manufacturers. The company is among the world’s market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene, glycols, methanol, MTBE, 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 compared to the previous year and the company’s highest profit since its inception. Sales revenues for 2005 totaled SR78.3 billion ($20.8 billion), making SABIC the largest and most profitable public company in the Middle East.
