By Roy Lie Atjam.
The Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention, held the Fourth Special Session of the CSP on Tuesday, 26, The special session will continue up to June 28 June 2018.
The conference was convened at the request of the Permanent Representatives (Article VIII(B) Rule 6) of Australia, Bulgaria,Canada, France, Germany, Japan, New-Zealand, Poland, Romania, The UK and Northern Ireland and the USA. The focus was on Upholding the global ban against chemical weapons use.
The Conference opened on Tuesday, 26 June 2018 at 9:30h, in the King Willem Alexander Theatre, The Hague.
The chairman of the Fourth Special Session of the CSPSS4, Mr. Abdelouahab Bellouki did the opening in both the English- and Arabic language.
Featuring on the (provisional) Agenda
The opening of the session
Adoption of the agenda
Upholding the global ban against chemical weapons use
Adoption of the report
Closure
The adoption of the agenda was lengthy, it took over two hours before it was adopted. The conference was subsequently adjourned.
During the afternoon session, the British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson addressed the special conference. He allegedly personally lobbied ministers from several countries. Chemical weapons are an affront to human dignity and have no place in the 21st century, said Johnson.
The Fourth Special Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention, CSPSS 4 will carry on to June 28, 2018
Ambassador Randolph and Linda Evans with Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg – Picture by Cour grand ducale.
Tuesday, 19 June 2018, Luxembourg City: HRH The Grand Duke of Luxembourg welcomed in accreditation audience the latest US envoy to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the lawyer Randolph (Randy) Evans and his wife Linda.
Ambassador Evans is a partner at the world’s largest law firm “Dentons US LLP” and erstwhile Chairman of the Judicial Nominating Commission of the Federal State of Georgia.
He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Georgia School of Law with the mark summa cum laude.
For further information:
Christine Schraner Burgener.
Tuesday, 19 June 2018, Union of Myanmar: In Maungdaw township located in the northern Rakhine State, UN Special Envoy for Myanmar Christine Schraner Burgener met Muslim and Hindu refugees who had fled to Bangladesh yet returned voluntarily to Myanmar. It is the first visit by Special Envoy Schraner Burgener to the country since being appointed end of April by UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
She arrived last week and met to discuss the Rakhine humanitarian issues with State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Commander-in-Chief for Defence Services Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.
Ms Schraner Burgener has served as Deputy Director of the Directorate of International Law, with the rank of Ambassador, and Head of the International Law, Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Division in the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs from 2004 to 2009. Simultaneously, she served as the Coordinator for Counter-Terrorism on Foreign Policy and as the Secretary‑General of the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission. Until beginning of June 2018 she was the Helvetian ambassador to Germany, first woman in the high-level position in over 150 years of Swiss-German relations.
Born in Meiringen, Switzerland, in 1963, Ms. Schraner Burgener holds a law degree from the University of Zurich, and is fluent in German, French, English and Japanese.
For further information:
1-10 June 2018, South Africa and Namibia: A political and trade delegation comprising 60 representatives from Bremen, Oldenburg and the Elbe-Weser triangle travelled to Cape Town, Windhoek and Walvis Bay. It was led on the trade side by the President of the Bremen and Bremerhaven Chamber of Commerce, Harald Emigholz as well as the Mayor and Senate President of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, Dr. Carsten Sieling.
Representatives from the fields of logistics, harbour and shipping industry, plant construction, electronics and IT, construction industry and infrastructure, energy industry and service industries, health and food industry encompassed the delegation.
President of Bremen’s Senate and Mayor Carsten Sieling led the delegation.
In South Africa the delegation paid a visit to Green Cape, an organisation focusing on collaborations with enterprises, investors, universities and governmental institutions to promote green technologies. A visit to Launch Lab in Stellenbosch was meant to connect and study the success of the start-up scene in the Cape Town region.
For Bremen the harbour and logistics infrastructure in Wavis Bay, the largest Namibian harbour, is paramount because it is developing to become the most important trade zone for good exchanges to South Africa. There is a promising cooperation with the harbour company Namport in Walvis Bay, which offered a free office to Bremen to begin the cooperation.
On the political side, Mayor Carsten Sieling paid a visit to Durban, which boasts the largest harbour in South Africa and holds a cooperation agreement with Bremen since September 2011. Out of this agreement a climate partnership was also developed, and is a important working project for Bremen and South Africa.
For further information:
Tuesday, 26 June 2018, The Hague, Kingdom of the Netherlands: At a special session held at the headquarters of the Organization against the Proliferation of Chemical Weapons, Deputy Secretary John Sullivan reiterated the USA its commitment to ending the usage of chemical weapons by state and non-state actors. Secretary Sullivan once more condemned on behalf of the US the recent chemical weapon attacks in Syria, the UK, Malaysia, and Iraq.
“The increased use of chemical weapons has created a global crisis, and we must give the OPCW the tools to deter, prevent, and respond to chemical weapons attacks, including empowering it to attribute who is responsible for chemical weapons use in Syria” he said during his allocution to the assembled dignitaries.
For further information:US Permanent Representative to the OPCW (HE Ambassador Kenneth D. Ward): https://nl.usembassy.gov/our-relationship/ambassador-kenneth-d-ward-opcw/
US Embassy to The Netherlands (H.E. Ambassador Peter Hoekstra): https://nl.usembassy.gov/statement-by-deputy-secretary-of-state-john-sullivan-at-the-opcw/
By Sheila Turabaz.
On Sunday the 17th of June, the fourth edition of International Yoga Day was – unlike previous years – held in Amsterdam, which – according to the Ambassador of India H.E. Mr. Venu Rajamony – is “the most vibrant and cultural city of the Netherlands, where there is a huge following of yoga”.
Thousands of people from all walks of life flocked to the capital to fully immerse themselves into the yoga lifestyle for an entire day. A number of Dutch and Indian dignitaries as well as from the diplomatic corps also participated in this year’s yoga celebrations.
The wellness festival, organized by the Embassy of India, was a unique opportunity for both yoga aficionados and novices to practice yoga in the heart of Amsterdam on the Museumplein, facing the Rijksmuseum and the Royal Concertgebouw at the back.
For additional pictures, please open the following link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/109407424@N02/albums/72157669000880727International Yoga Day, Amsterdam 2018.International Yoga Day is celebrated in more than 100 countries annually on and around the 21st of June since the adoption of resolution 69/131 by the General Assembly of the United Nations, in order to promote global health, harmony and peace. The Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi proposed the 21st of June as the day to celebrate the art of yoga, as it coincides with the Summer Solstice (the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere) and this day carries a special significance in many parts of the world.
This year’s International Yoga Day was inaugurated by the Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management of the Netherlands, Ms. Cora van Nieuwenhuizen, Indian spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and the Ambassador of India H.E. Mr. VenuRajamony.
Ambassador Rajamony welcomed the participants and emphasized the significance of yoga to mankind and society but to the Netherlands in particular in his opening speech:
“Today we gather to celebrate yoga, to celebrate fitness and a healthy lifestyle. But along with this, we also celebrate and pay tribute to the people of the Netherlands, who are known for their commitment to fitness activities (…) in the Netherlands there are an estimated 200 yoga schools and in Amsterdam alone there are over a hundred. The people of the Netherlands are truly believers in yoga”.“We from India see yoga as ancient India’s gift to mankind. Yoga is not just a part for physical wellness but it is also a method to attune one’s mind, to still one’s mind, to learn how to go within, and through that stillness of mind, develop a stress-free, aggression-free lifestyle. Yoga is not just something for personal benefit, but it also for societal good, (…) the essence of the Indian philosophy which is also transmitted through yoga is to develop a composure of peace and calm (….) and to promote tolerance and celebrate pluralism in society”. “We believe that all practitioners of yoga and all people with the right values can come together to create a violence-free world, a world where compassion and caring rules and a world where each one of us support each other and live in harmony with each other and with Mother Earth (…) and we dream of a day when Amsterdam will become the yoga capital of Europe”.
The International Yoga Day in Amsterdam. was inaugurated by the Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management, Ms. Cora van Nieuwenhuizenand, spiritual guru His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and H.E. Ambassador Rajamony with a traditional lighting of the lamp.
Minister Van Nieuwenhuijzen followed with a speech in which she mentioned the cooperation between the two countries in building a better world:
“Some of you might wonder what a minister of Infrastructure and Water Management is doing at a ceremony to mark the International Yoga Day. Three weeks ago I was in India, with a trade mission headed by Prime Minister Mark Rutte. (…) I was impressed by India and its can-do approach. Demonstrating self-confidence and great ambition, the country is working hard not only to grow its economy but it does it in a way that it wants to be sustainable as well. And Dutch businesses are contributing to efforts to clean up the Ganges, India’s great sacred river”. “The Netherlands is helping to build sustainable and healthy metropolitan regions and cities by providing assistance in areas like waste management, urban planning and wastewater treatment. The ties between India and the Netherlands go back four hundred years and are still very strong. A country of illustrious history, India has given the world so much. Yoga has become popular all over the world (…) it is the first and most successful product of globalization”. International Yoga Day by the Embassy of India 2018.“Yoga is practiced from Japan to South America and from Canada to Australia, and in the Netherlands too, yoga’s message is spreading”. The fact that today we are here on the Museumplein and not as in previous years in the Atrium of the Hague’s City Hall, shows this very clearly, the city hall simply became too small”.
In his annual speech which was streamed live during the festival, the Prime Minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi encouraged everyone to become acquainted with the yoga lifestyle:
“The problems in modern lifestyles are well known (…) stress and depression have become silent killers. Yoga offers a solution to these ailments. Practicing yoga helps fight stress and find peace. If the body is the temple of the mind, yoga creates a beautiful temple.(…) Yoga goes beyond boundaries of age, gender, caste, religion and nations. Yoga does not discriminate between anybody; all you need is willingness to practice it. People who are at peace with themselves are at peace with others too. Such people build harmonious nations and such nations build a harmonious world.”
Together with hundreds of yoga amateurs Ambassador Rajamony and H.E. Sheikh Mohammed Belal and spouse Dr. Dilruba Nasrin.
Apart from yoga demonstrations, the stalls providing advice and products on wellness and healthy food; the grand finale in the evening ‘The Soul Shanti Concert’ featuring Indian violin maestro Dr. L. Subramaniam and Bollywood playback singer Kavita Krishnamurthy also made this year’s International Yoga Day a great success.
Ambassador Rajamony aims to encourage his “ fellow diplomats to come up and take yoga. The Cultural wing of the Embassy of India (The Ghandhi Centre) in The Hague offers free yoga classes for diplomats and their spouses. I encourage more of my colleagues to pay a visit and attend these classes and to be part of the yoga movement”t
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Pictures are a courtesy of Sheila Turabaz and the Embassy of India in The Hague.
By Roy Lie Atjam.
The Ambassador of Japan in the Netherlands H.E. Mr. Hiroshi Inomata, hosted a Ceremony of Conferment on 12th June 2018. The ceremony was in honour of Mr. Hans de Wekker, member of the board of the Kyudo Renmei Nederland. The ceremony took place at the Ambassador’s residence in The Hague.
For additional Hester Dijkstra’s memorable pictures, please open the link below: https://www.flickr.com/photos/109407424@N02/albums/72157670912382408
In delivering his address Ambassador Hiroshi Inomata, stated the following:
“Mr De Wekker received “the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays” H.E. Hiroshi Inomata, the Ambassador of Japan, honoring Mr. Hans de Wekker.
This decoration is conferred in the name of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan for Mr. De Wekker’s significant contribution to introducing Japanese culture and promoting understanding of Japan in the Netherlands through the martial art of kyūdō, Japanese archery.
I would like to share some of the many highlights in his career that have led to this celebratory moment. One of the persons who introduced kyūdō to the Netherlands was Mr. Simon van den Nieuwendijk, the founder of the Kyudo Renmei Nederland. He visited Japan and studied quite some martial arts. Back in the Netherlands he travelled across the country and in 1981, during one of his kyūdō demonstrations in Groningen, he crossed the path of Mr. De Wekker who was in his early thirties.
Mrs. Linda van der Kamp, Mr. Hans de Wekker Ambassador Inomata and Midori Inomata.
This was a moment that would change Mr. De Wekker’s life. In the years that followed Mr. De Wekker would completely devote himself to kyūdō, and he became a member of the Kyudo Renmei Nederland (KRN). Only a few years later, in 1984, he became a member of the board of the Kyudo Renmei Nederland (KRN) and soon he taught kyūdō to students himself.
Not only on a national level, but on an international level as well Mr. De Wekker has devoted himself to the advancement of kyūdō. In 1988 he became a member of the board of the European Kyūdō Federation, and together with his wife Mrs. Linda van der Kamp who is also a devoted kyūdō-ka, they saw the beginnings of the International Kyūdō Federation (IKYF) in 2006.
Also, in the same year Mr. De Wekker edited and translated the book Michi no Yumi, written by one of his sensei.
In the meantime, Mr. De Wekker had assumed his position as president of the Kyudo Renmei Nederland (KRN), which he would fulfil for about 26 years. A moment that should not be left unmentioned is the opening of the dōjō Engakuan in 2008.
I think Mr. De Wekker was quite lucky to be able to share his passion with his wife, because I do not think there are many couples that agree it is a good idea to build a dōjō in their backyard! I think it is truly a monument to both of your dedication and passion for kyūdō.
I met Mr. De Wekker in the summer of 2016 when he was finishing his last responsibilities as former president of the Kyudo Renmei Nederland (KRN). The occasion was the 10th anniversary of the International Kyudo Federation (IKTF) that was celebrated in the Netherlands and for which Her Royal Highness Princess Takamado was also present.
Her Royal Highness visited the Engakuan dōjō and she was quite impressed; the dōjō even features cameras in order for students to be able to review correct posture and form.
Mr. Hans De Wekker, for almost 40 years you have made invaluable efforts to advance and promote kyūdō in the Netherlands. The Government of Japan recognizes, and is deeply grateful for your tremendous contribution to promoting mutual understanding between Japan and the Netherlands by means of kyūdō.
Now the time has come to honour you, Mr. De Wekker, in the Name of His Majesty, the Emperor of Japan, with “the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays”. End of quote.
In his acceptance speech, Mr De Wekker expressed his sincere gratitude on receiving such a highly esteemed distinction. Very humbling. De Wekker concluded by remarking “the Dutch Japanese road to kyūdōis one adorned with flowers”
Speakers at the Ceremony of Conferment were: H.E. Mr. Hiroshi Inomata, Ambassador of Japan in the Netherlands, Mr. Hans de Wekker, Mrs. Linda van der Kamp and Ms. Malou Saat, who also proposed the toast.
A reception concluded the impressive Ceremony of Conferment.
Mr. Domingos Melo e Alvim, Counsellor, H.E. Mrs. Rosa Batoréu, Ambassador of Portugal and Mr. Miguel F. Porfirio, Commercial Attaché.By Roy Lie Atjam.
June 10, is Day of Portugal, Camões and the Portuguese Communities or simply, Portugal National Day has been celebrated on 14th June 2018.
For additional Kim Vermaat’s pictures, please open the link below: https://www.flickr.com/photos/109407424@N02/albums/72157698801711255H.E. Soraya Alvarez, Ambassador of Cuba, Ambassador Batoréu and the Director-General of the OPCW, H.E. Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü.
According to tradition, the Portuguese President has assigned two cities to hold official National Day celebrations.
This year’s festivities took place in the Portuguese city of Ponta Delgada in the Azores and Boston in the United States of America.
H.E. Mr. Chris Leo Clark Hoornaert, Ambassador of Belgium, H.E. Odette Melono, Ambassador of Cameroon and the Ambassador of Luxembourg, H.E. Mr. Jean-Marc Hoscheit.
In the Netherlands – The Hague, Ambassador of Portugal, H.E. Mrs. Rosa Batoréu, celebrate Portugal’s National Day with a splendid reception at her residence.
H.E. Archbishop Aldo Cavalli, Apostolic Nuncio and H.E. Mr. Elpidoforos Economou, Ambassador of Cyprus.
A huge number of Ambassadors, to mention just a few: Denmark, Romania, Cuba, Indonesia, Brazil, Argentina, Denmark, Albania, Peru, Cyprus, along with many invitees including the diaspora came by to join in the celebration.
Mr Victor Barros Correia, OPCW, Mrs Mawrid Sharmin, FirstSec. Bangladesh Embassy and Roy Lie Atjam, Diplomat Magazine.
The ambience was excellent and guests enjoyed the Portuguese wines (Altano Douro 2016, Symington Estates) and Portuguese snacks, including the famous bolinhos de bacalhau, Rissóis de camarões, Pastéis de Nata, Queijo da Serra and Torta de laranja.
What a wonderful afternoon, Portuguese style it has been.
G7 summit 2018 – Picture by European Union.
Tuesday, 19 June 2018, Meseberg Castle, Brandenburg, Germany: France and Germany have reached a compromise ahead of the landmark EU summit in Brussels in June 28-29 during a joint ministerial council held at Brandenburg.
President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel outlined the points in which they reached consensus. The announcement on Tuesday entailed substantive compromises, including on Eurozone reforms wherein Berlin and Paris stood widely apart.
EU Commission
There is a Franco-German consensus on the reduction of EU Commissioners from the current 28. That also means the two countries accept the principle that they may relinquish their own Commissioners on a rotational basis.
Eurozone Agreement
Germany conceded on the need for a Eurozone budget that should be in place by 2021. President Macron made clear that this is to be a real budget, “with annual revenues and spending.” How great a compromise this is for Germany remains to be seen, as it is unclear how this budget will be funded.
The two states have also agreed on the transformation of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) into a European Monetary Fund that will permanently act as a lender of last resort to states, in exchange for reforms. There is broader consensus that this fund may now also extend aid to troubled systemic lenders, reducing the link between credit risk and country risk.
Pending Franco-German cleavage
France wishes for Germany to take significant steps towards the further economic integration of the Eurozone in the hope that it shall reduce systemic political and economic volatility.
French President Emmanuel Macron has called repeatedly for a Eurozone budget funded by EU-wide taxation. France has advocated an EU-wide corporation tax to fund this budget, that is, an initiative that Germany opposes. In a recent interview, Chancellor Merkel was unwilling to commit to a budget that would exceed a double-digit number in billions of euros.
Germany leads a group of countries with Austria, the Netherlands, and Finland that are net contributors to the EU budget. The group wants to avoid increasing contributions to the EU budget and a number of states vehemently oppose the idea of a single corporate tax, as much of their competitiveness is founded on taxation, including Ireland, Malta, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
Over the last few weeks, Berlin appeared ready to concede a limited fund rather than a budget – to the tune of €30bn – that would invest in countries undergoing a crisis. It is unclear whether the new “budget” will, in fact, be a limited funding instrument.
Migration Management
The German Chancellor was given a two-week political breathing to broker an EU-wide migration deal by the summit in Brussels (June 28-29).
The Chancellor’s junior coalition partner – the Christian Social Union (CSU) – want immediate immigration curbs. The Chancellor wants to secure a multilateral solution before the leader of the CSU and Minister of Interior, Horst Seehofer, proceeds with his own national plan on migration.
Juan Manuel Santos Calderón and Donal Tusk – Picture by European UnionThursday, 31 May 2018, Brussels: Colombia has joined NATO as a “global partner” after President Juan Manuel Santos finalized the agreement.
It entails that Colombia will not necessarily have to partake in military action -should an ally be under siege- yet it shall be fully accredited in headquarters.
The 29-state NATO alliance reached a partnership agreement with Colombia back in May 2017, just after peace was signed with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, an agreement that earned Santos a Nobel Peace Prize. Other global partners include Afghanistan, Australia, Iraq, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mongolia, New Zealand and Pakistan.
Colombia’s partnership shall deal with co-operating on global security areas like cyber and maritime security, terrorism and links to organized crime, according to NATO’s website.
Colombia has likewise joined the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) headquartered in Paris.For further information:
Ambassador Rajamony welcomed the participants and emphasized the significance of yoga to mankind and society but to the Netherlands in particular in his opening speech:
“Today we gather to celebrate yoga, to celebrate fitness and a healthy lifestyle. But along with this, we also celebrate and pay tribute to the people of the Netherlands, who are known for their commitment to fitness activities (…) in the Netherlands there are an estimated 200 yoga schools and in Amsterdam alone there are over a hundred. The people of the Netherlands are truly believers in yoga”.
“We from India see yoga as ancient India’s gift to mankind. Yoga is not just a part for physical wellness but it is also a method to attune one’s mind, to still one’s mind, to learn how to go within, and through that stillness of mind, develop a stress-free, aggression-free lifestyle. Yoga is not just something for personal benefit, but it also for societal good, (…) the essence of the Indian philosophy which is also transmitted through yoga is to develop a composure of peace and calm (….) and to promote tolerance and celebrate pluralism in society”.
“We believe that all practitioners of yoga and all people with the right values can come together to create a violence-free world, a world where compassion and caring rules and a world where each one of us support each other and live in harmony with each other and with Mother Earth (…) and we dream of a day when Amsterdam will become the yoga capital of Europe”.
Ambassador Rajamony welcomed the participants and emphasized the significance of yoga to mankind and society but to the Netherlands in particular in his opening speech:
“Today we gather to celebrate yoga, to celebrate fitness and a healthy lifestyle. But along with this, we also celebrate and pay tribute to the people of the Netherlands, who are known for their commitment to fitness activities (…) in the Netherlands there are an estimated 200 yoga schools and in Amsterdam alone there are over a hundred. The people of the Netherlands are truly believers in yoga”.
“We from India see yoga as ancient India’s gift to mankind. Yoga is not just a part for physical wellness but it is also a method to attune one’s mind, to still one’s mind, to learn how to go within, and through that stillness of mind, develop a stress-free, aggression-free lifestyle. Yoga is not just something for personal benefit, but it also for societal good, (…) the essence of the Indian philosophy which is also transmitted through yoga is to develop a composure of peace and calm (….) and to promote tolerance and celebrate pluralism in society”.
“We believe that all practitioners of yoga and all people with the right values can come together to create a violence-free world, a world where compassion and caring rules and a world where each one of us support each other and live in harmony with each other and with Mother Earth (…) and we dream of a day when Amsterdam will become the yoga capital of Europe”.
In the meantime, Mr. De Wekker had assumed his position as president of the Kyudo Renmei Nederland (KRN), which he would fulfil for about 26 years. A moment that should not be left unmentioned is the opening of the dōjō Engakuan in 2008.
I think Mr. De Wekker was quite lucky to be able to share his passion with his wife, because I do not think there are many couples that agree it is a good idea to build a dōjō in their backyard! I think it is truly a monument to both of your dedication and passion for kyūdō.
I met Mr. De Wekker in the summer of 2016 when he was finishing his last responsibilities as former president of the Kyudo Renmei Nederland (KRN). The occasion was the 10th anniversary of the International Kyudo Federation (IKTF) that was celebrated in the Netherlands and for which Her Royal Highness Princess Takamado was also present.
Her Royal Highness visited the Engakuan dōjō and she was quite impressed; the dōjō even features cameras in order for students to be able to review correct posture and form.
Mr. Hans De Wekker, for almost 40 years you have made invaluable efforts to advance and promote kyūdō in the Netherlands. The Government of Japan recognizes, and is deeply grateful for your tremendous contribution to promoting mutual understanding between Japan and the Netherlands by means of kyūdō.
Now the time has come to honour you, Mr. De Wekker, in the Name of His Majesty, the Emperor of Japan, with “the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays”. End of quote.
In his acceptance speech, Mr De Wekker expressed his sincere gratitude on receiving such a highly esteemed distinction. Very humbling. De Wekker concluded by remarking “the Dutch Japanese road to kyūdōis one adorned with flowers”
Speakers at the Ceremony of Conferment were: H.E. Mr. Hiroshi Inomata, Ambassador of Japan in the Netherlands, Mr. Hans de Wekker, Mrs. Linda van der Kamp and Ms. Malou Saat, who also proposed the toast.
A reception concluded the impressive Ceremony of Conferment. 
In the meantime, Mr. De Wekker had assumed his position as president of the Kyudo Renmei Nederland (KRN), which he would fulfil for about 26 years. A moment that should not be left unmentioned is the opening of the dōjō Engakuan in 2008.
I think Mr. De Wekker was quite lucky to be able to share his passion with his wife, because I do not think there are many couples that agree it is a good idea to build a dōjō in their backyard! I think it is truly a monument to both of your dedication and passion for kyūdō.
I met Mr. De Wekker in the summer of 2016 when he was finishing his last responsibilities as former president of the Kyudo Renmei Nederland (KRN). The occasion was the 10th anniversary of the International Kyudo Federation (IKTF) that was celebrated in the Netherlands and for which Her Royal Highness Princess Takamado was also present.
Her Royal Highness visited the Engakuan dōjō and she was quite impressed; the dōjō even features cameras in order for students to be able to review correct posture and form.
Mr. Hans De Wekker, for almost 40 years you have made invaluable efforts to advance and promote kyūdō in the Netherlands. The Government of Japan recognizes, and is deeply grateful for your tremendous contribution to promoting mutual understanding between Japan and the Netherlands by means of kyūdō.
Now the time has come to honour you, Mr. De Wekker, in the Name of His Majesty, the Emperor of Japan, with “the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays”. End of quote.
In his acceptance speech, Mr De Wekker expressed his sincere gratitude on receiving such a highly esteemed distinction. Very humbling. De Wekker concluded by remarking “the Dutch Japanese road to kyūdōis one adorned with flowers”
Speakers at the Ceremony of Conferment were: H.E. Mr. Hiroshi Inomata, Ambassador of Japan in the Netherlands, Mr. Hans de Wekker, Mrs. Linda van der Kamp and Ms. Malou Saat, who also proposed the toast.
A reception concluded the impressive Ceremony of Conferment. 
