Global
The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Thursday the closure of its embassy building in Cairo until further notice as a precautionary measure following protests organized outside the premises. The statement clarified that the temporary closure of the embassy does not affect the services provided by VFS Global in Cairo. In recent days, protestors gathered outside the Dutch embassy in Cairo, denouncing the detention of Egyptian youth leader Ahmed Nasser, vice president of the Egyptian Youth Union Abroad, who was arrested by Dutch authorities while heading to participate in a gathering of Egyptians outside the Egyptian embassy in the Netherlands. Protesters raised slogans rejecting what they described as the Netherlands' support for members of the Muslim Brotherhood. Separately, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Aati discussed bilateral relations developments with his Dutch counterpart Tom Berendsen, emphasizing the necessity of providing adequate protection for the Egyptian embassy in The Hague in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. The Egyptian minister stressed Cairo's commitment to safeguarding all diplomatic missions on its soil, highlighting the importance of mutual adherence to obligations between the two countries. The meeting also addressed the case of the detained Egyptian citizen in the Netherlands, calling for clarification of the circumstances surrounding his arrest and urging his prompt release. This diplomatic move followed the circulation of videos on social media showing an individual verbally abusing guards at the Egyptian embassy in The Hague and holding offensive signs, amid criticism of the Dutch police's lack of intervention at the scene.
