Welcome to the Website of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Saudi Arabia

The embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Riyadh looks after the interest of the Dutch government. To that end the embassy maintains contacts with various governmental bodies up till the highest level of the government. The main tasks of the Netherlands embassy in Saudi Arabia are in the field of politics, economy and trade, consular affairs and press and cultural affairs.

Also one of the important tasks is to protect and serve the interests of Dutch citizens, which are staying in Saudi Arabia for a shorter or longer period.

You will find a lot of useful information on the embassy, the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia at this website. May there be any information you are interested in but not available on the website, do not hesitate to contact us:  riy@minbuza.nl.

NEWS:

Consular news Please note that an appointment is required when applying for a visa, passport or legalisations of documents. For more information:  http://riyadh.embassytools.com. As from September 2009 there is a new procedure for obtaining Dutch travel documents: please see  here.

Minister of Economic Affairs Mrs. Maria van der Hoeven visiting Riyadh Minister of Economic Affairs, Mrs. Maria van der Hoeven, will visit Saudi Arabia on January 19th. The objective of this visit is to strengthen, broaden and intensify the relationship with Saudi Arabia. The Netherlands’s geographic position and the extensive Dutch energy industry give the Netherlands a major role in North-western Europe’s energy security. This offers possibilities for increasing cooperation in the field of energy at both a governmental and private level. Saudi Arabia is a focus country for the Netherlands. Minister van der Hoeven will discuss with H.E. Minister Al-Naimi amongst other things the future architecture of  the consumer/producer dialogue in the International Energy Forum, the energy market and the 4 Kingdoms' Initiative on Carbon Capture and Storage. She will further speak to HH Prince Saud Al Thunayan, Chairman of SABIC, Acting Minister of Commerce & Industry Dr. Saud al-Mat’hami and H.E. Mr. Amr Al Dabbagh, Governor SAGIA. Mission in the Water sector In her meeting with Dr. Saud al-Mat’hami, acting Minister of Commerce & Industry, she will announce the upcoming mission by a consortium of leading Dutch water companies to Saudi Arabia, funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Purpose of this mission is to present a masterplan to prevent future floodings in the Jeddah region. The Dutch water sector was also involved in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. Furthemore the Minister will announce the participation of universities from the Netherlands at the International Exhibition for Higher Education and a large delegation of Dutch companies in the oil, gas and power sectors visiting the Eastern Province. - Universities from the Netherlands to participate at the International Exhibition for Higher Education - Oil & Gas trade delegation visiting Eastern Province 6-8 February

Universities from the Netherlands to participate at the International Exhibition for Higher Education on January 26 - 29 Not less than four universities from the Netherlands will participate in the International Exhibition for Higher Education (IEHE) at the Riyadh Exhibition Centre, taking place between 26th and 29th of January. Representatives from the University of Groningen, Maastricht University, Leiden University and University of Utrecht will be present at the exhibition to provide information what their respective universities have on offer. Higher Education in the Netherlands enjoys a worldwide reputation for high quality. At present Dutch higher education contains more than 1200 Bachelor, Master and PhD programs in English, with more than 100.000 students from abroad. It is particularly well-known around the world in areas as management & business studies, agricultural sciences, medicine, civil engineering, remote sensing and arts & architecture. No less than eleven Dutch universities figure this year, once again, in The Times’ list of the top 200 universities. During the exhibition the presidents of the universities will speak at a seminar organised by MOHE. More information about the IEHE can be found at the website of the Ministry of Higher Education:  http://iehe.mohe.gov.sa/en. See the website  www.studyin.nl for information about studying in the Netherlands.

Oil & Gas trade delegation visiting Eastern Province 6-8 February A trade delegation from the Netherlands is visiting the Eastern Province 6 - 8 of February 2010 in the framework of the program 'Dutch Energy Solutions: Global Excellence, Local Performance'. The delegation will visit amongst others Saudi Aramco, SEC and various Saudi companies active in the oil & gas and power sectors.

 

Gulf Environment Forum, International Exhibition and Forum, Jeddah March 7 - 9  The first Gulf Environment Forum is taking place in Jeddah on 7th – 9th March 2010. This groundbreaking event will be the first all encompassing environmental conference and exhibition to be held in the region. More information can be found at the website  www.gulfenvironmentforum.com The Netherlands Embassy is one of the sponsor's of this event and there will be participation from Dutch environmental specialists.

Message from Verhagen on the occasion of International Human Rights Day - 10 December 2009

Faisaliah Tower in Orange As a sign of the excellent relationship between the two kingdoms: Saudi Arabia and the Netherlands the Faisaliah tower turned into the color orange for a few days during the Holland Food Festival, which took place in November this year, in the garden restaurant of the Al Khozama Hotel, in close cooperation with the Netherlands Embassy. For this occasion a Dutch atmosphere with decorated wooden clogs and demonstration of a genuine clog maker was created. The Faisaliah Tower illuminated the evenings of Riyadh with an orange glow. The color orange has royal roots in the Netherlands, today it symbolizes a broader pride in the country and in being Dutch.

Naming and launch ceremony of state-of-the-art cutter suction dredger AL SAKAB The naming and launch ceremony of the 16,500kW stationary cutter suction dredger AL SAKAB took place at the IHC Merwede yard in Sliedrecht, The Netherlands on Monday 5 October 2009. The ship is being built for HUTA Marine Works Ltd, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. For more information, click here

EU and US must work together in Middle East

Verhagen meets new Palestinian representative

Influenza A Flu ('Swine Flu')

Read more about the Gaza conflict ... here

Note: To the information provided on this website no rights can be derived from. The embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is not responsible for incorrect information nor for the content of links from this website.