RIYADH, 2 January 2007 — A 31-member business group representing 24 major companies in the upstream oil and gas industry in the Netherlands will visit the Kingdom on Jan. 25-29 to explore investment opportunities. The delegation is led by IRO (Association of Dutch Suppliers in the Oil Gas Industry) which represents some 300 companies in the oil and gas supply industry such as engineering, field development, pipeline installation, maintenance and material and equipment supply/manufacturing, onshore as well as offshore projects. Jurgen Bertelink, first secretary, economic and cultural affairs, in the Royal Netherlands Embassy said some of the participating companies will be visiting the market for the first time and have a range of objectives, including market research to identify suitable representatives for their products and services. The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) said in its latest report that the Netherlands has 35 enterprises in the Kingdom ranging from industrial to services, aside from other 20 Dutch companies that have investment here. In September 2007, the Netherlands imports from Saudi reached 2,398,043 million euros. The total value of exports to the Kingdom hit 1,095 million euros, composed mainly of industrial-agricultural equipment and foodstuffs.
