ALKHOBAR, 27 March 2004 — The Le Gulf Meridien Hotel hosted a Holland Food Festival inaugurated by the Netherlands’ ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Paul Lagendijk. The event signaled a return to normalcy in the region as Ambassador Lagendijk and Le Gulf Meridien’s General Manager Michael Nugent were able to welcome guests representing a broad spectrum of local society on the opening night of the festival. The event bore a slightly subdued air due to the sad demise of the former Queen of the Netherlands, Princess Juliana.
In his opening remarks, Ambassador Lagendijk commented that although Holland is 54 times smaller than Saudi Arabia, thanks to the nation’s climate and soil composition it has become one of the biggest food producers per square kilometer in the world. This factor has made the Netherlands the third largest food exporter after the USA and France.
“In Saudi Arabia, much of what you eat every day was produced in Holland,” said Ambassador Lagendijk. “Or, it was produced here in Saudi Arabia by your countrymen with techniques, greenhouses and seedlings from Holland. The close cooperation between Dutch and Saudi farmers will guarantee a constant supply of ever improving Dutch vegetables and fruits for Saudi consumers.
In addition to our excellent produce are the dairy products from countless herds of cows from Dutch breed and origin supplying the milk that lets children grow up to become healthy and strong adults.”
Ambassador Lagendijk stated that he was disappointed that visitors to the food festival would be unable to taste well-known Dutch meats due to the import ban on these products, which he hoped might be lifted soon. He also thanked the festival’s sponsors including KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Royal Dutch Shell, Saudi Hollandi Bank, Frico, Campina, Atos Origin, ITA-Farms and the Dutch Meatboard.
The Holland Food Festival is just one of a large number of events being held at Le Gulf Meridien Hotel. Business at the hotel is booming. Le Gulf Meridien’s Revenue Manager Prashant Sharma stated that the hotel is 99 percent booked through the first week of April and that advanced bookings into the summer were looking extremely strong.
