al meer dan 700 NL in Qatar

DUTCH exports to Qatar in 2007 were for the third successive year up by some 50% and are rapidly closing in on the half billion-dollar mark, Ambassador Hans Van Vloten Dissevelt has said.
He was addressing a gathering of sheikhs, senior officials and diplomats at his residence on Wednesday at celebrations marking the birthday of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and the Dutch national day.
“The Dutch imports from Qatar, excluding oil and gas, also continued to pick up, growing another 15% last year to more than $150mn,” Dissevelt said.
The ambassador said these numbers will expand even further, thanks to the tax treaty signed last week and the Investment Protection and Promotion Treaty expected to be signed later this year when the Dutch minister of economic affairs is to visit Doha.
“The bilateral ties between the Netherlands and Qatar have been developing during the last three years at a rapid pace, both economically and politically,” he added.
Dissevelt was joined by National Council for Culture, Arts and Heritage chairman Sheikh Mishal bin Jassim al-Thani, the Foreign Ministry’s chief of protocol Mohamed al-Khater and the European and American Affairs Department’s chief Abdullah al-Jabr in cutting a celebratory cake.