Dutch ambassador to Saudi Arabia lauds kingdom's Sudan evacuation efforts

Majority of Dutch citizens were flown out on military planes

Assistant Minister of State for African Countries Affairs Ambassador Dr Sami Al Saleh receives the Ambassador of the Netherlands to the Kingdom Janet Alberda. Photo: jaalberda via Twitter

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The Dutch ambassador to Saudi Arabia has praised the kingdom's “efficient” efforts to rescue Saudi citizens as well as people from other countries from Sudan amid the ongoing conflict.

“The moment the whole country went into evacuation mode, there was a number of 160 people registered with the ministry, and we brought them back to the Netherlands mostly by air,” Janet Alberda told The National, explaining a joint effort with Riyadh to rescue stranded citizens.

“This was done with great co-operation with the Ministry of Defence and a special team flying from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who set up a base in Aqaba, and together with like-minded countries, notably France, the UK and Germany, we had flown a military plane eight times into Khartoum to pick up people.”

So far, 5,409 people have been evacuated from Sudan to Saudi Arabia, with 5,184 of this group belonging to 102 nationalities.

Battles between Sudan's military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have been raging since April 15. More than 500 people have been killed and thousands injured as countries around the world work to rescue citizens living in the country.

Ms Alberda said some Dutch citizens could not reach the planes at Khartoum airport because they lived in outlying parts of the city.

“Despite our advice, as we stated it would be risky and tricky, they took the road to Port Sudan,” she said. “We had 27 Dutch nationals who arrived in Jeddah thanks to great co-operation with Saudi authorities.”

Dutch officials from the consulate flew down to Jeddah when they heard some of their fellow citizens were on the way.

“Some of our evacuated people work for the United Nations and they had to go straight to Nairobi and didn't have a passport,” she recalled.

“Some were taken to a hotel with great arrangements made by Saudi authorities and people have now flown homewards.

“One lady with her son is now on her way to Port Sudan. So its still going on — it is very sad to see what's happening.”

The majority of Dutch citizens were flown back home by military aircraft, Ms Alberda said, with one family remaining in the kingdom.

“A small yet a very important group that wasn't able to reach the airport in Khartoum were able to come through the port set up by the Saudi ambassador, to Jeddah,” she said.

“It is an important route.”

On Sunday, Iran thanked Saudi Arabia for helping 65 of its citizens escape the conflict in Sudan.

Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed last month to restore ties seven years after breaking off diplomatic relations. They are working to reopen their respective embassies and to resume flights between the two countries.

The Dutch ambassador complimented the Saudi government on its efforts to evacuate people from all over the world.

“It was amazing to see what they did with the Iranians — the photos went [viral] worldwide,” she said.

“I have great appreciation of the way they dealt with it efficiently, swiftly … you don't see that everywhere in the world.”

Another 200 people were evacuated from Sudan and arrived in Jeddah on the HMS Abha on Monday, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

On Thursday, Ms Alberda met ministry representatives to discuss ongoing “regional files — the deal between Iran and the Saudis, we discussed the involvement of Saudi Arabia with Sudan, whether it is evacuations, humanitarian work or calls for ceasefire, and I was very informed … about all initiatives”, she said.

“Saudi Arabia is continuing to play a critical role in alleviating the crisis in Sudan by evacuating dozens of foreign nationals today including citizens from the US, UK, Sweden, Italy, Turkey, Iraq, the Netherlands and Qatar, among others,” said Fahad Nazer, spokesman for the Saudi embassy in Washington.