- The Dutch National Day is known as King’s Day since it commemorates the birthday of King William Alexander on April 27
- Nashwa Taher is the first Saudi woman to be appointed honorary consul of the Netherlands in Jeddah
JEDDAH: Diplomats from various countries gathered in Jeddah on Tuesday to celebrate the Netherlands’ National Day.
The celebration, organized by the Dutch consulate in Jeddah, began with a speech from the honorary consul, Nashwa Taher, who welcomed the guests and thanked them for attending.
She highlighted the most important potential opportunities for experience and knowledge exchange between the Netherlands and other countries.
“Saudi Arabia and the Netherlands enjoy long-term good relations, We thank God for that. Our role at the consulate in Jeddah is to develop business relations as much as possible,” Taher told Arab News.
Dutch Ambassador Joost Reintjes delivered his speech in Arabic after greeting the guests in his native tongue.
“Both kingdoms have benefited from strong historical ties over the years,” he said, highlighting “success stories and cooperation between the two countries” in various sectors. “We hope to strengthen these relations in the future.”
Bilateral relations can be traced as far back as the 17th century, but they were formalized with the opening of a Dutch consulate in Jeddah in 1869. The consulate was upgraded to an embassy, which moved to Riyadh in 1985.
Both countries’ national anthems were played after the speeches, then guests enjoyed a buffet dinner.
The National Day is known as King’s Day since it commemorates the birthday of King William Alexander on April 27.
The Dutch Embassy organizes trade missions and events, and helps businesspeople and companies interested in doing business with the Netherlands, which is among top 10 trading partners and investors in Saudi Arabia.