The Netherlands is becoming a popular destination for Saudi students as 40 are expected this year to leave the Kingdom to study in various universities under the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Scholarship Program.

“At present, there are 566 Saudis, most of them medical students, studying in the Netherlands,” said Dutch Embassy First Secretary Fieke Huisman.

However, with the Kingdom investing more in education, she said: “We expect more Saudis to go to the Netherlands for other courses like engineering and business.”

Gerdien Verheuvel, the Dutch Embassy’s education attache, added that in October last year, the Kingdom appointed Dr. Moneer Al-Otaibi as education attaché to look after the cultural needs of Saudi students in the Netherlands.

“This is a sign that Saudi Arabia is investing more in educating its youth. The Netherlands has likewise increased the number of its education attaches all over the world,” she said, adding that it has one in the Kingdom and another in China.

In implementing an earlier accord, in May the Netherlands will send medical students to study for one semester at the King Faisal University (KFU) in Hofouf.

KFU and the University of Groningen signed an agreement that would open new areas of cooperation between the two universities.

The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the fifth international conference on innovations in higher education in April 2014 at the Riyadh International Exhibition Center.

It was the third service contract signed between the two universities to promote educational programs such as training, assessment, exchange and coordination of activities for the KFU Medical College, which started in 2010.

The Groningen curriculum has been followed at KFU since September 2012.

As proof of increased educational cooperation between the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia, Dutch universities will have a significant presence in the upcoming Higher Education Fair (ECHE) this year in the Saudi capital.