Dutch govt cancels trade mission to Saudi Arabia over missing journalist

The Dutch government on Thursday canceled a trade mission to Saudi Arabia next month due to concerns over the disappearance of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to a spokeswoman. “All trade missions to the country have been suspended for now,” a spokeswoman for PSPS Consultants, which had organized the trip for the government, told Reuters. The decision came minutes after finance minister Wopke Hoekstra said he was scrapping plans to attend a conference in Saudi Arabia next week. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire also added his name to a growing list of government ministers and prominent business executives canceling their attendance at a Saudi Arabia investment conference. Le Maire said Saudi authorities needed to explain the disappearance of Khashoggi after he went to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2. Asked if the move might jeopardize bilateral relations between the two countries, Le Maire said: “Absolutely not.”