A Saudi delegation, headed by Vice Minister of Commerce and CEO of the National Competitiveness Center Dr. Iman Al-Mutairi, has arrived in the Netherlands to hold cooperation talks as part of efforts to enhance commercial and economic partnership in priority fields for the two countries. The Saudi delegation, whose visit continues till Thursday, includes leaders from the ministries of energy, investment, and environment, water and agriculture, Saudi Ports Authority, General Authority for Foreign Trade, Technical and Vocational Training Corporation, the National Competitiveness Center, Jeddah Islamic Port, and Federation of Saudi Chambers, in addition to representatives of top national companies, such as: Saudi Aramco, SABIC, Saudi Investment Recycling Company (SIRC). The delegates are scheduled to hold several official meetings and working sessions with government institutions and the business sector in the Netherlands, where Dutch Vice Minister for Foreign Economic Relations Dr. Hanneke Schuiling yesterday received the Saudi delegation in the Hague in the presence of Saudi Ambassador Ziad Al-Atiyah, where the meeting went over means to enhance economic partnership between the two countries in light of the Saudi Vision 2030. The first day of the visit included a visit to the ICAI, University of Amsterdam, and the village of business incubator, where the delegates had a firsthand look at the latest developments and practices in force, due to the wide experience of the Netherlands in the field of innovative sciences, developing know-how and technology in the fields of renewable energy, food, transport, logistic services, healthcare, smart cities and innovation. Later on, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized working sessions that saw the participation of leaders of major companies like Shell, Unilever and Philips, and VNO-NCW, which is considered the biggest union for businesspeople and industry in the Netherlands and represents more than 185,000 facilities, and TNO that is classified as one of the biggest research institutions concerned with circular economy and sustainable infrastructure in the world. Stakeholders in the Saudi side reviewed promising opportunities, cooperation aspects and partnership, mainly in the renewable energy field in light of what the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia enjoys of competitive features thanks to its geographical location and climate, which made benefiting from renewable energy resources a profitable source economically and a supporter for efforts to diversify energy resources.
