His Excellency Mr.  Shujjat Ali Rathore, Ambassador of Pakistan in the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Pakistan Ambassador H.E. Shujjat Ali Rathore, along with Diplomat Magazine and Diplomatic Card, organized a superb Meet and Greet on Friday, 2 February at Hotel Carlton Ambassador, in The Hague.

It was an excellent opportunity for heads of missions, the business and governmental community to meet with the new Ambassador and his spouse.

Among the attendees was a high number of diplomats and ambassadors of all the continents, to mention a few: The Nuncio, Ecuador, Mexico, Morocco, Cameroon, Bangladesh, Georgia, Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, USA, Australia, Armenia, Cuba, Kosovo, Algeria, Argentina and many others.

Ambassador Shujjat Ali Rathore’s welcome speech “Emerging Pakistan” was followed by an authentic Pakistan dinner composed of chicken tikka, palak gos, chicken biryani, chana and zarda.

By all means, there was a very joyous atmosphere, the video screened was fantastic and there was ample opportunity to renew old contacts and to make new acquaintances. Everyone had a good time.

A resume of Ambassador Shujjat Ali Rathore welcome address follows.

I am grateful to all of you for gracing this occasion with your presence.

I am especially thankful to my Commercial Wing, Diplomat Magazine and other stakeholders who participated in arranging this graceful event.

Excellencies and Friends!

Pakistan is blessed with diverse geographic strengths including 14 of the world’s highest peaks, one of the largest deserts, vast fertile plains, largest man-made irrigation system in the world, good quality infrastructure including deep-sea ports, motorways, robust housing sector; in industry and agriculture, it produces high quality products in textiles, leather, sports goods, and one of the top producers of important crops like wheat, cotton, rice sugarcane, exotic fruits like mangoes, citrus and much more. Its arts and culture is historically rich. Pakistan takes pride in leading the world in certain sports fields. Its people are creative, hardworking and one of the most philanthropic nations in the world.

Dear Friends,

Today we have made special arrangements to make you taste Pakistan rice and food.

We are the 4th largest producer of rice in the world. It is one of our major exports. We grow different varieties of rice but as you know, the most popular rice variety from Pakistan is its aromatic Super Basmati Rice. I can add many adjectives here, but I would rather want you to taste our rice and find out yourself.

Excellencies and Friends,

Many Dutch companies including Shell, Veon, Akzo Nobel, Nutricia and recently Friesland Campina have made considerable investments in Pakistan. This reflects the confidence of the Dutch investors in Pakistan’s economy. We urge all of you to explore the opportunities of doing business with the emerging Pakistan.

Our doors at the Embassy are always open to facilitate your contacts.

By Roy Lie Atjam.

In an official ceremony, the ASEAN committee The Hague(ACTH) has handed over the chairmanship for 2018 to H.E. Mr. Jaya Ratnam, Ambassador of the Republic of Singapore.

To mark the occasion, the Ambassador of Indonesia H.E. I Gusti Wesaka Puja hosted a dinner reception to celebrate the handover of the ASEAN chairmanship. The celebration took place at the Nusantara Hall, Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia on 16 January 2018.

H.E. I Gusti Wesaka Puja, expressed his gratitude for the cooperation, solidarity, and support within the ACTH. He went on to welcome the guests. Several none ASEAN Ambassadors attended the ceremony.

Furthermore, there were presentations by the Ambassador of the Philippines Ambassador Jaime Victor B. Ledda and by the Ambassador Jaya Ratman of Singapore. In part, this is what Ambassador Ratnam said.

“I would like to thank Pak Puja and the Indonesian Embassy in the Hague for inviting us and hosting this reception. I wish to also thank Ambassador Jamie Victor Ledda for his presentation on ASEAN’s accomplishments under the Philippine Chairmanship.

Last year was a milestone for ASEAN as we celebrated our 50th anniversary. We have come a long way from when we were founded as a 5-member bloc in 1967. We have since matured into a Community focused on regional peace, economic integration and constructive engagement with our external partners.

The Philippines’ able leadership as ASEAN Chair in 2017 helped to enhance cooperation between ASEAN Member States and solidify ASEAN’s collective voice on the world stage. As the Chair of ASEAN in 2018, Singapore looks forward to building upon the good work done by the Philippines as well as previous Chairs.

ASEAN is a region brimming with potential. More than 60% of ASEAN’s estimated population of 630 million are under the age of 35. The establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community and the ASEAN Free Trade Area also offers great opportunities for our businesses to expand and creates more choices for our consumers.

As ASEAN Chair, Singapore will push to strengthen and deepen ASEAN integration to take advantage of this immense potential, through the themes of ‘resilience’ and ‘innovation’ Building ASEAN’s resilience will help develop a safer and more secure region.

We will champion projects that help us deal with emerging collective security challenges such cybersecurity, transnational crime, and terrorism. This will ensure stability and peace which are cornerstones for the progress and prosperity of the region.

As ASEAN Chair, Singapore will also focus on developing our relations with external partners, including the EU, particularly as we take over the coordinator/ship of ASEAN-EU dialogue relations in mid-2018.

The EU is an important partner; it is the largest source of Foreign Direct Investment in ASEAN with a total of 20.1 billion euros in 2015. It was also the ASEAN’s second largest trading partner in 2015. Nevertheless, there is potential for growth.

More can be done to facilitate trade and business. Out of 300 European companies surveyed in the EU-ASEAN Business Survey 2017, 75% expected an increase of profits for 2017 in ASEAN and 94% are planning to expand or maintain their current levels of operations and headcount in the region.

There is also great potential to grow relations between ASEAN and individuals EU Member States such as the Netherlands. ASEAN can learn much from the Netherlands in specialized areas such as water and waste management, climate change, trade and urban development. As ASEAN Chair and incoming ASEAN-EU country coordinator, we are excited to take advantage of the multitude of available opportunities to deepen cooperation in existing fields and to find new areas to collaborate.

We look forward to working with all our partners to ensure a successful year for ASEAN.

By Roy Lie Atjam.

A reception to mark India’s Republic Day was hosted by H.E. Venu Rajamoni at the historic Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam on January 26, 2018. The Republic Day celebrations started on the morning of 26 January at the residence of Ambassador Venu Rajamoni with a flag hoisting ceremony, speeches and songs.

Republic Day or National Day is the day the people of India gave themselves the Constitution of India on January 26, 1950. In India Republic Day is celebrated with a dazzling parade at Rajpath in the capital New Delhi,i in the presence of foreign dignitaries. This year around the leaders of 10 ASEAN countries are the Chief Guests in the Republic Day celebrations in Delhi.

At the celebrations in Amsterdam, guest of honour was Ms Kajsa Ollongren, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior. Also Mr Jan van Zanen, Mayor of Utrecht, Ms Edith Schippers, Former Minister of Health, Welfare and Sports. As well as Ambassadors of various countries. The many guests were invited to attend the ongoing Exhibition ‘We have a Dream, Gandhi, King, Mandela’

A dance performance Ode to Mother India by Ms Kalpana Raghuraman, Anuradha Pancham and Indu Panday, was part of the magnificent program.

The guest of honour Minister Kajsa Ollongren, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, congratulated India and stressed to excellent friendly relationship between the Netherlands and India. Here is an extract of her speech:

So I’m convinced that Dutch-Indian relations will soar to even greater heights in the future. Our countries also face similar challenges, relating to security, climate change, economic growth and sustainable development. And the only way of overcoming them is by working together. By sharing knowledge and experience.

In his welcome address H.E. Venu Rajamoni, Ambassador of India, made the following remarks:

Permit me to extend a warm welcome to this reception in honour of India’s 69th Republic Day. I am grateful to all of you for having gathered here and I specially thank our Guest of Honour Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations and the Hon’ble Mayor of Utrecht for their presence. Please give them a big round of applause.

The Indian Embassy is thankful to the National Foundation de Nieuwe Kerk for having provided this prestigious venue where the coronation of King Willem-Alexander as well as his marriage with Queen Maxima took place.

It is particularly appropriate that the celebration of India’s 69th Republic Day takes place amidst this wonderful exhibition “We have a dream – Gandhi, King and Mandela.” The Republic Day marks that day in 1950 when the people of India adopted, enacted and gave to ourselves the Constitution of India. And, the Indian Constitution fully enshrines the ideals that Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela stood for, struggled for and for whose achievement they dedicated their lives.

The Preamble to the Indian Constitution says ‘We’ the people of India have solemnly resolved to secure to all its citizens: Justice, social, economic and political; Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; Equality of status and of opportunity; and to promote amongst them all Fraternity, assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation.

India is today the third largest economy in the world in purchasing power parity terms with GDP of US$ 7.2 trillion. It is the fifth largest in nominal terms with a GDP of US$ 2.7 trillion. India is also a young nation with over 60% of our population under the age of 35.

Since 2014, India has seen a strong and stable government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi initiate a number of radical measures to reform the economy, accelerate growth and empower women and children. The Government has adopted a Goods and Services Tax which has unified our 1.3 billion people into one market for the first time. Improving the ease of doing business is one of the top priorities of the Government.

Last year, Tata Steel, the largest Indian company in the Netherlands, announced its merger with Germany’s Thyssen Group. The Headquarters of the merged company will remain the Netherlands. TCS, India’s biggest IT firm completed 25 years of operations in the Netherlands. One of our major producers and exporters of Basmati rice, LT Foods opened an ultra modern rice milling plant in Rotterdam. Similarly, Synthite, the world’s largest supplier of spice oils and oleoresins opened operations in the Food Valley, Wageningen.

Friends, 2018 promises to be an equally good year for India – Netherlands relations. Prime Minister Modi met Queen Maxima on the margins of the World Economic Forum in Davos early this week. Discussions are underway to prepare for visits to India by Prime Minister Mark Rutte and by Queen Maxima in her capacity as the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate on Financial Inclusion.

Further, we hope to celebrate for the first time the International Yoga Day on the Museumplein of Amsterdam with mass yoga demonstrations and a wellness fair involving food, music and dance on June 17. I thank the City of Amsterdam for supporting this initiative and invite all of you to join us in making this event a huge success.

My focus on the positive does not mean I ignore the troubles that confront the world. We live in difficult times. Political, social, economic and environmental challenges confront all parts of the globe. Terrorism has left none of us untouched. The theme of the World Economic Forum this year is “Creating a shared future in a fractured world.”

In an address to the diplomatic community last week, His Majesty King Willem-Alexander called for united action by the international community to make the world a safer and better place in 2018. I conclude echoing his words and quoting few lines from India’s national poet, Rabindranath Tagore, whose poetry won him a Nobel Prize in 1913, making him the first Asian to win the prize.

I quote “Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high Where knowledge is free Where the world has not been broken up into fragments By narrow domestic walls. End quote.

The poet wrote these lines as a prayer for India. Today, it is a prayer for the whole world. Let us work together to ensure that the world awakes into a heaven of freedom. As the ancients of India have taught – Loka samasta sukhino bhavantu – May the whole world enjoy peace and happiness. Thank you.

The spectacular evening concluded with a  Dinner and viewing of the Exhibition ‘We have a Dream, Gandhi, King, Mandela’

Indeed, Incredible India!