Netherlands assures KSA it respects Islam

The Dutch government respects Islam and Saudi Arabia and would not allow the actions of one right-wing politician to jeopardize relations, a senior official from the European country said.
This comes after an envoy of the Dutch government had a one-day meeting with Saudi officials on Friday to clear up misunderstandings in the wake of racist lawmaker Geert Wilders denigrating Islam and the Saudi flag. The Saudi government subsequently slapped economic sanctions on the country because the Dutch government had failed to take action against Wilders.
Maurice Pourchez, first secretary for economic affairs at the Netherlands Embassy in Riyadh, told Arab News on Tuesday that his government condemned the “childish behavior” of certain individuals, in reference to Wilders.
“The Dutch Cabinet deeply understands the embarrassment caused by the insults to their religion and their country’s flag,” he said. “The Dutch government emphatically disagrees with actions that insult their faith ... including insulting or abusing national symbols such as flags.”
He said there are a billion Muslims in the world including hundreds of thousands of decent and moderate adherents in the Netherlands.
The two countries would work out an amicable solution to this problem, he said. The country’s foreign minister would like to visit the Kingdom soon to boost bilateral relations.
Wim Geerts, director general for political affairs at the Dutch Foreign Ministry, had held talks with key Foreign Ministry officials in Riyadh on Friday about the matter.
Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans has sent the envoy to the Kingdom after Riyadh slapped indirect sanctions on the European country over Wilders’ anti-Islam diatribe.
Pourchez had said last week that his country would launch all-out efforts to improve relations. “The incident took place about four months ago,” the official said about Wilders’ actions.
Pourchez, who is also the spokesman of the embassy, had pointed out that trade between Saudi Arabia and the Netherlands stands at about SR31 billion with Saudi exports to the country reaching nearly SR20 billion.
About 30 Dutch companies operate in Saudi Arabia with many in the Netherlands having trade relations with the Kingdom.
The Saudi government had ordered the Council of Saudi Chambers to ban Dutch firms from taking part in future projects in the Kingdom, directly and through subcontracting. The order also reduces to a minimum the number of visas for Dutch companies and investors who are not part of vital projects in the Kingdom.
There would also be a ban on the exchange of trade delegations between the two countries.