On the picture H.E. Mrs. Vestine Nahimana, Ambassador of Burundi, H.E. Ms. Sahar Ghanem, Ambassador of Yemen and Latvia Ambassador, HE Mrs Ilze Ruse and H.E. Mrs. Katri Viinikka, Ambassador of Finland.
The Ladies Ambassadors’ group celebrated together the International Women’s Day, with a memorable Vin d’honneur organised by the Ambassador of Guatemala, H.E. Marithza Ruiz, who is the coordinator of this group of women in the Netherlands after taking the lead from the Ambassador of Tanzania, H.E. Ms. Irene Florence M. Kasyanju.For additional Hester Dijkstra’s images, please open the link below: https://www.flickr.com/photos/121611753@N07/albums/72157694441342205H.E. Mrs Kaili Terras, Ambassador of Estonia.
The International Women’s Day, originally called International Working Women’s Day, is celebrated on Match 8th every year.
This tradition dates back to 1910, began during the 1910 International Socialist Women’s Conference, and Marc 8th soon became a national holiday in Russia and the communist bloc.
Years later, in 1975, it was adopted by the United Nations, thus losing its political connotation and becoming a universal day for women across the globe.
H.E. Mirsada Colakovic, Ambassador of Bosnia & Herzegovina together with H.E. Marithza Ruiz, Ambassador of Guatemala and coordinator of the group.
Across different regions, the focus of the celebrations is different, although the common feature is the demonstration of respect, appreciation, and love towards women and their economic, political, and social achievements.
This day is also the main day in the movement for women’s rights, and it is often use to claim for an array of new causes too.
In The Hague, the Ambassadors discussed recent global issues and enjoyed lively conversations at Kookstudio France in Javastraat.
H.E. Mrs. Katri Viinikka, Ambassador of Finland, H.E. Dr. Heidemaria Gürer, Ambassador of Austria and H.E. Adia Sakiqi, Ambassador of Albania.
The Ambassador of Guatemala also described more in detail the nature of the meeting: “As in past years – she said – we will organise meetings with ministers, state secretaries, and other officials of the Dutch government, and international organisations based in The Hague. More importantly, as coordinator of the Lady Ambassadors, I will make a special effort to ensure it becomes a two-way exercise.”H.E. Mrs. Kaili Terras, Ambassador of Estonia, H.E. Ms. Sahar Ghanem, Ambassador of Yemen and Ambassador of Bosnia & Herzegovina, H.E. Mirsada Colakovic.“We wish to better understand our host country, and we also have much to share about our individual countries and regions. It is more than networking; it is about exploring how we can help each other, and make more lasting contributions to advance our mutual agendas.”Ms. Carmen Breeveld, President Women Entrepreneurs Netherlands together with H.E. Ms. Irene Florence M. Kasyanju, Ambassador of Tanzania.
To cope with the ever-increasing number and complexity of cybercrime cases, enhanced international judicial cooperation is required. On 7 and 8 March 2018, participants from more than 60 countries around the world met at Eurojust to gain a better understanding of the assistance available to practitioners in the pursuit of a common criminal policy toward cybercrime and the gathering of electronic evidence. The conference was co-organised by Eurojust and the Cybercrime Programme Office of the Council of Europe (C-PROC) within the framework of the Global Action on Cybercrime Extended (GLACY+) Project.Participants and speakers were Eurojust National Members, Council of Europe officials, representatives of EU and international agencies and networks as well as authorities, engaged in international cooperation in cases involving cybercrime, electronic evidence and mutual legal assistance in criminal matters. The meeting was opened by Ladislav Hamran, President of Eurojust, and Alexander Seger, Head of the Cybercrime Division, Council of Europe.Topics discussed included Eurojust’s mission, objectives, core tasks and work in the field of cybercrime; challenges, obstacles and constraints in international cooperation; capacity‑building projects of the Council of Europe; the implementation of the Budapest Convention and the role of the Cybercrime Convention Committee; cooperation with the private sector; case examples and practical experience; and the way forward.By the end of this conference, participants were able to better utilise Eurojust and the Budapest Convention in terms of judicial cooperation in cybercrime matters and electronic evidence collection through:
a better understanding of Eurojust’s role and tools;
a better understanding of the Budapest Convention and capacity-building programmes; and
an exchange of experience and case work among EU Member States and other participating countries regarding the implementation of the Budapest Convention and the use of Eurojust’s tools.
Ambassador Mário Vilalva and Premier Laschet – Picture by Land NRW, W. Meyer.
Wednesday, 21 February 2017, Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW): Premier Armin Laschet (NRW) received for a bilateral meeting HE Ambassador Mário Vilalva of the Federative Republic of Brazil at Government House in Düsseldorf.
Highlight of the meeting were the German-Brazilian Economic Days (Deutsch-Brasilianischen Wirtschaftstage), which in this year are taking place in NRW, or to be more precise between the 24 and 26 June 2018 at Cologne, the state’s economic hub. Last year the German-Brazilian Economic Days were held with more than 600 representatives of the two giant economies at Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Brazil is currently holding the rotating MERCOSUR chairmanship. MERCOSUR is a loose economic alliance formed by Brazil, the Argentine, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela (suspended as of 2016).
Ambassador Mário Vilalva heads the Brazilian Embassy in Berlin since 8 November 2016.
For further information:https://www.land.nrw/de/pressemitteilung/ministerpraesident-laschet-empfaengt-den-botschafter-von-brasilienhttp://www.stadt-koeln.de/wirtschaft/koeln-ist-gastgeberin-der-deutsch-brasilianischen-wirtschaftstage-2018
UAE, Emirate of Abu Dhabi, UAE: His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mabarak Al Nahayan, UAE Minister of State for Tolerance, announced the launch of the “UAE Tolerance and Peaceful Co-existence Association” in the sidelines of the “2018 Tolerance Conference” hosted by the ministry he leads, and opened ceremoniously by His Highness Lt.-General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior.
Sheikh Nahayan bin Mabarak highlighted the UAE’s efforts to promote the values of tolerance, justice and equality during his opening remarks. The conference’s focus were the key themes of tolerance, moderation, and dialogue when confronting extremism.
All in all, the association aims at establishing and developing a smart platform, the applications of which are concerned with the different aspects of supporting the tolerance discourse and to spread the culture of tolerance and amity. It also seeks to strengthen the country’s pioneering position as a land of tolerance.
For further information:
Ministry of State for Tolerance: https://government.ae/en/about-the-uae/the-uae-government/government-of-future/tolerance-in-the-uae
———Picture of HE Sheikh Nahayan bin Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister of State for Tolerance – Copyright by Private Office of Sheikh Nahayan bin Mabarak Al Nahayan
IHE Delft hosted a half-day workshop on Wednesday 7th March for Ambassadors and Embassy officials on the subject of water diplomacy and water cooperation. The topic is of great importance and relevance, as demonstrated by the active participation by representatives from over 50 countries.
Following an introduction to the Institute by the Rector, Mr. Eddy Moors, an overview of key elements and issues in water diplomacy and water cooperation, was presented by speakers Zaki Shubber and Aaron Wolf. The underlying theme was that research has indicated that overall countries do cooperate over shared water resources.
The audience was reminded of the large number of treaties and conventions which already exist to jointly manage water, although a significant number of basins do not have a legal framework in place. Two positive examples of shared waters that were mentioned are the Rhine basin, where all parties have been working together to improve water quality and the Geneva Aquifer, which is jointly managed by Switzerland and France.
The point was also made several times that water cooperation is essential at all levels, from the local to the international, and that there is a connection between these levels in the case of transboundary water bodies.
Joyeeta Gupta discussed broader dimensions of water diplomacy and the global nature of larger issues related to water, including water crossing borders beyond what is visible.
The range of water discussed extended from green water to atmospheric water and referred to virtual water. The critical impact of climate change on water issues was also highlighted in light of the very close relationship between water and climate change as well as development.
A discussion session followed, during which the panel of speakers gave their views on different current issues and possible future developments in water diplomacy as well as on the importance of resolving water issues for the continued stability of the world.
Sunday, 11 March 2018, Beijing, PRC: President Xi Jinping secured a sweeping mandate to extend his presidential tenure as the national legislature lifted the presidential two-terms limit.
Under the red-starred dome of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, nearly 3,000 delegates of the National People’s Congress, the party-controlled legislature, voted to approve an amendment to the constitution to abrogate the term limit on the presidency, paving the way for further service by President Xi.
President Xi, 64, has in effect created a new legal basis for serving longer as president, whilst alongside holding other posts as General Secretary of the Communist Party and Chairman of the Central Military Commission.
Without the aforesaid amendments, he would have been due to step down as president in 2023.
For further information:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China
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President Xi Jinping – Picture by Antilong, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license through Wikipedia
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Head of the Commonwealth – Picture by Joel Rousel.
Message by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Head of the Commonwealth
We all have reason to give thanks for the numerous ways in which our lives are enriched when we learn from others. Through exchanging ideas, and seeing life from other perspectives, we grow in understanding and work more collaboratively towards a common future. There is a very special value in the insights we gain through the Commonwealth connection; shared inheritances help us overcome difference so that diversity is a cause for celebration rather than division.
We shall see this in action at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting which takes place in the United Kingdom next month, bringing together young people, business and civil society from across the Commonwealth.
These gatherings are themselves fine examples of how consensus and commitment can help to create a future that is fairer, more secure, more prosperous and sustainable. Having enjoyed the warm hospitality of so many Commonwealth countries over the years, I look forward to the pleasure of welcoming the leaders of our family of 53 nations to my homes in London and Windsor.
Sport also contributes to building peace and development. The excitement and positive potential of friendly rivalry will be on display next month as we enjoy the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, Australia. Contributing to the success of the Games, alongside athletes and officials, will be thousands of volunteers.
Voluntary effort, by people working as individuals, in groups or through larger associations, is so often what shapes the Commonwealth and all our communities. By pledging to serve the common good in new ways, we can ensure that the Commonwealth continues to grow in scope and stature, to have an even greater impact on people’s lives, today, and for future generations.
Message by the Commonwealth of Nations Secretary-General, HE The Rt Hon Baroness Scotland of Asthal
Never before in the history of our family of nations has there been such a remarkable season of gatherings as that heralded by Commonwealth Day 2018.
Over coming weeks at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and associated forums, leaders and representatives of the people in all 53 of our member countries will assemble to work and plan together. We will share and learn from one another, and be motivated to ever greater heights of endeavour and achievement.
There will also be the Commonwealth Games, with compelling scenes of athletic prowess, tenacity and triumph. Huge new audiences worldwide will deepen in understanding of what the Commonwealth is, what it does, and how it brings positive change for the good of all.
An example of this is the Commonwealth Blue Charter currently being developed. By agreeing to protect the health of oceans and marine life, and to use the precious resources they yield in responsible and sustainable ways, we will be sharing more fairly the benefits they bestow, and preserving these for future generations.
Wherever we live – on island or coast, or inland where streams and rivers flow to the sea – our actions and the way we live affects life in the ocean. In turn, the health of the ocean affects our own wellbeing, our weather, our food, our trade and our prosperity. Industrial and domestic waste pollutes great rivers and their tributaries, or flows directly into the sea. Plastic and other toxic waste materials poison the ocean, which belongs to us all and is vital to our common future.
Just as we work together in the Commonwealth to preserve the health of the ocean, we cooperate in many other ways for the common good. Our member countries have committed to nurture and protect democracy, development and respect for diversity so that people of all communities can live safer and healthier lives, and share in the fruits of prosperity. This includes preventing greed and corruption, unfairness, or partisan discord from poisoning politics and public life.
We work together to achieve this by creating channels through which good ideas and clever ways of doing things flow from the governments and people of all our countries into a continually renewed and refreshed Commonwealth ocean of knowledge. It is an ecosystem of experience and expertise in which all give and all gain.
Through our ‘Faith in the Commonwealth’ project, we draw wisdom and insights from secular streams of thought, and from the many communities and traditions that are the sea of faith. Such resources and riches add to all that we celebrate on Commonwealth Day, and they are indeed treasures to be cherished and shared.
There are opportunities for each and every one of us as members of the worldwide Commonwealth family to become involved. With our fellow citizens, we live, learn, work and play in countries set in every continent and ocean – all 2.4 billion of us, representing a glorious spectrum of diversity and talent. It is by living and working for the good of one another, towards a common future, that we build our Commonwealth.
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On the picture Mr. Beau – Special Roast, H.E. Jean Pierre Karabaranga, Ambassador of Rwanda / The Hague, Mr. Lennart Clerkx – This Side Up Coffees, Mr. Hendrik – Special Roast Barrista – Special Roast, Mr. Erik – Rose & Vanilla.
After the big successes at the Amsterdam Coffee Festival in 2015 and 2016, this year on 9, 10 and 11 March, the Embassy of the Republic of Rwanda in the Netherlands and This Side Up joined forces with Special Roast (coffee roaster and retailer) and Bakery Rose & Vanilla for a new approach to promote Rwandan Coffee.
The participation was supported by Rwanda National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB).
‘Rwanda is a unique coffee origin because of its location and its people. Its climate gives rise to excellent coffees that are sweet, often tea-like and rich in acidity, and the country’s quick rise to the highest specialty ranks inspires producers worldwide.’ ‘At the Amsterdam Coffee Festival 2018 Rwanda showcased the truly transparent coffee value chain, from award-winning farmer cooperatives in Rwanda to specialty coffee roasters abroad’, said H.E. Ambassador Jean Pierre Karabaranga.
Rwanda coffee is imported by several Dutch companies, including This Side Up, which is a platform that allows coffee roasters in Europe to trade transparently with coffee farmers in Rwanda.
The Embassy of Rwanda in collaboration with NAEB and This Side Up invited several producers from Rwanda to come to the festival or to send the best coffee varieties to be roasted for the Amsterdam Coffee Festival.
‘Throughout the day we held walk-cuppings and visitors to the booth were inspired with everything they wanted to know about these coffees’, Lennart Clerkx of This Side Up said. ‘New this edition were the pastries made from Rwandan Coffee, freshly baked by bakery Rose&Vanilla’.
Being present at the Amsterdam Coffee Festival was an opportunity to provide information to potential investors and coffee retailers how to deal with Rwanda. This Side Up has years of experience in direct marketing in Rwanda and was there – with the Embassy of Rwanda – to answer any question about starting and maintaining direct trade relationships with Rwandan producers.
‘Rwanda is a unique coffee origin because of its location and its people. Its climate gives rise to excellent coffees that are sweet, often tea-like and rich in acidity, and the country’s quick rise to the highest specialty ranks inspires producers worldwide.’
‘At the Amsterdam Coffee Festival 2018 Rwanda showcased the truly transparent coffee value chain, from award-winning farmer cooperatives in Rwanda to specialty coffee roasters abroad’, said H.E. Ambassador Jean Pierre Karabaranga.
Being present at the Amsterdam Coffee Festival was an opportunity to provide information to potential investors and coffee retailers how to deal with Rwanda.
This Side Up has years of experience in direct marketing in Rwanda and was there – with the Embassy of Rwanda – to answer any question about starting and maintaining direct trade relationships with Rwandan producers.
‘Rwanda is a unique coffee origin because of its location and its people. Its climate gives rise to excellent coffees that are sweet, often tea-like and rich in acidity, and the country’s quick rise to the highest specialty ranks inspires producers worldwide.’
‘At the Amsterdam Coffee Festival 2018 Rwanda showcased the truly transparent coffee value chain, from award-winning farmer cooperatives in Rwanda to specialty coffee roasters abroad’, said H.E. Ambassador Jean Pierre Karabaranga.
Being present at the Amsterdam Coffee Festival was an opportunity to provide information to potential investors and coffee retailers how to deal with Rwanda.
This Side Up has years of experience in direct marketing in Rwanda and was there – with the Embassy of Rwanda – to answer any question about starting and maintaining direct trade relationships with Rwandan producers.
