H.E. Ambassador Willys Delvalle.
H.E. Willys Delvalle, Ambassador of the Republic of Panama, proudly welcomed all who came to congratulate him on his country’s 113th Independence Day.
The venue chosen for the celebration was the Marriott Hotel in The Hague where guests enjoyed the warmth of Panama. Many head of missions and diplomats from Latin America, Europe and the Middle East cheered Ambassador Delvalle after his speech on Panama’s growing economy and foreign direct investments.
Panama a solid place for foreign investment
Ambassador Willys Delvalle has many reasons to be proud. Panama is doing economically well, taking advantage of its extraordinary geographical location. Ambassador Delvalle then went on to give an overview of his beloved Panama’s achievements; he started by recounting how centuries ago Panama was used as a logistical hub by the Spain, transporting merchandise from the West coast of South America to Europe.
“Today” Delvalle states, “our country has developed a strategy of Panama as a “Worldwide Logistic Hub”, and in this regard, we have invested in the construction of infrastructure for ports, airports and highways, logistics free zones in both coasts and of course the expanded Panama Canal offering the best practices in the sector.”
For additional Kim Vermaat’s pictures please open the following link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/121611753@N07/albums/72157674994801242HE Ambassador Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Abohaimed, Ambassador of Saudi Arabia and H.E. Willys Delvalle the Ambassador of Panama.H.E. Willys Del valle, Veronique Miclea, H.E. Carlos Herrera, Ambassador of Peru, Tatiana Delvalle, H. E. Juan José Quintana Ambassador of Colombia and spouse, Maria Rosario Navia.
Panama envisages offering new business within the expanded Canal. This will include: commercial activities that will give added value to the Canal route with the construction of Roll-on Roll-off terminal, logistic parks, pipelines, ship repair industry, Top-off operations, power generation, LNG terminal, and the construction of a container terminal to increase the capacity in the Pacific by 5.3 million TEUs with full connectivity to the trans-isthmian railroad.
The Panama Canal has this year received a rating of “A” from various international institutions and the International Maritime Organization has recognized that the enlargement of the Canal will contribute to reducing CO2 emissions.
For environmental purposes the country is preparing to host the International Center for the Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD = PLUS), inviting the international community to sign the Agreement and be part of this key initiative of the global climate agenda.
Ambassador of Panama, H.E. Willys Del valle, Amaira Quinonez, H.E. Fermin Quinones Sanchez, Ambassador of Cuba, Fanny Rodriguez, Tatiana Delvalle, H.E. Eduardo Rodriguez Veltze, Ambassador of Bolivia.
“Panama has a flourishing economy according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), expected to remain strong and remain as one of the fastest growing economies in the world with an estimated increase of 5.2% in 2016 and 5.8% in 2017. Panama’s greatest asset is her people; each Panamanian daily takes pride in his work, traditions, cultural events, dance, art, music and gastronomy.
We like to share with you that Panama is preparing itself to become the Ibero-American Capital of Culture in 2019 and that same year host the World Youth Day with over 1 million attending.”
Ambassador Willys Delvalle concluded his address by observing, “as we today, 1st November 2016 celebrate our 113th anniversary of Independence, we would like to invite you to share in something that is genuinely Panamanian, images of our country and a taste of our typical flavours. Thank you all for coming.”
H.E. Willys Delvalle and Tatiana Delvalle.
A delicious comfort Panamanian’s food was served generously, the music and the welcoming atmosphere was remarkable, people stayed until the very end; congratulations to Armonia Chang de Belchieur, Minister Counsellor and the team of the Panamanian Embassy, a great event.
H.E. Samuel Otsile Outlule and ACP Group’s Secretary General Dr Patrick Gomes.Brussels, 30 September 2016: The 50th Anniversary of Independence of the Republic of Botswana was celebrated by a rather elegant and well-attended reception at the Concert Noble hosted by the country’s Ambassador HE Mr Samuel Outlule, who heads the missions of Botswana whose chancery is located in Brussels and is accredited to the EU, Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, the French Republic, the OPCW, UNESCO and the ACP Group of States. H.E. Samuel Otsile Outlule Ambassador of the Republic of Botswana and H.E. Dr Len Ishmael, Ambassador of the Eastern Caribbean States.After the playing of Botswana’s national anthem, and the Belgian by the Brussels Philharmonic, Ambassador Outlule highlighted the achievements of the Botswana, which have made the country an exceptionally developed country in sub-Saharan Africa; a true success story in the past 50 years. Ambassador Outlule also took the opportunity to recognise her staff members for their service to Botswana. For further information:Missions of Botswana in Brussels: http://www.botswana-brussels.com/directory
Mexican Party, Nancy van Overveldt.By John Dunkelgrün.Nancy van Overveldt (1930-2015) was born and raised in The Hague, where she graduated from the Royal Academy of Arts. In love with the endless possibilities of combining colors, she spent a year in Paris experimenting with coloration. At 22 she went to Mexico in search of new horizons.
There she was impressed by the magnificent colors found in nature, in buildings and in the arts. She loved the open spaces, the spiritualism of the indigenous peoples and the wonderful absurdity of the magic realism.
Musicians in the earky morning, Nancy van Overveldt.
Van Overveldt loved the country so much, she stayed in Mexico for a full quarter of a century. During that time her work became truly Mexican, in subject matter and in the soft muted colors of her palet that are reminiscent of Orozco and some of the Oaxaqueño artists, especially in her painting of birds. This was recognised in being able to stage museum expositions, representation by major art galleries and her membership of the Artist’s Association of Mexico.
In 1976 she returned to the Netherlands, where she had to realign her work with a much smaller, much denser built-up and populated country. This she did by focussing on the ample skies of the Dutch landscapes and on trees and gardens. Later she settled in Lelystad, capital of the widest expanse of “new” land in the country, land reclaimed from the former Zuiderzee.
Alejandra Saldaña, the Ambassador of Mexico in the Netherlands, H.E. Eduardo Ibarrola
From the extensive collection she has left to her two daughters, her daughter Alejandra Saldaña, and cultural attaché Sandra Lopez have curated a wonderful and representative exhibition of her work at the Embassy of Mexico.
This exhibition can be seen until the middle of December by appointment through cultura@embamex.nl
H.E. Eduardo Ibarrola, Ambassador of Mexico and Alejandra Saldaña, daughter of the artist.Exhibition Mexican Embassy – November 2016
The Ambassador of Mexico H.E. Eduardo Ibarrola hosted an impressive exhibition at the well known Embassy gallery to celebrate the life of the Mexican / Dutch artist Nancy van Oververldt 1930 – 2015 “Vivencias Mexicanas, my Mexican Experiences”.
Many diplomats, art collectors and people related to art in different ways attended the vernissage including the daughter of the artist Alejandra Saldaña, who actually live in Lelystad.
“Driven by the desire to capture the wonderful I surrender myself to the Paint” Paintings of Dutch- Mexican artist- Nancy van Overveldt Oil on canvas. My Mexican Experiences Collection.
This exhibition focuses on the paintings and life of the artist Nancy van Overveldt who worked and lived in Mexico for 25 years, from 1952 till the end of the seventies, when she returns to The Netherlands.
Born in 1930 in The Hague, Nancy van Overveldt studied painting at the Royal Academy of Arts. In 1951 she continued with her study on painting in Paris and in 1952 Nancy left for Mexico, driven by a deep longing to discover a new world.
In Mexico Nancy van Overveldt found herself in a world of brilliant light and huge dimensions, where people live amidst the interplay of cosmic forces. There she lived many lives and made her experiences visible in her paintings, on which we see naïve realism, compositions of the absurd and impressionistic figures captured in scenes of Mexican parties. The wonderful soul of Mexico with its hospitable people, the bright colors, festivals, dances, rites and music, had a great influence in the development of her work as a painter. She used to merge into Mexican life and travelled throughout the country in local buses, walking, over mountains to remote villages, sharing life and rites with the local people and at the end transforming these experiences into beautiful paintings, portraits and drawings in her specific style.
Painting was always an organic process for her, were colors and rhythms emerged on the canvas without being conceived on forehand.
In México Nancy van Overveldt achieved fame through many exhibitions including the Palacio de Bellas Artes, Galería Antonio Souza and Galería Chapultepec. For more than forty years she was a member of the Artist’s Association of Mexico, ‘El Salon de la Plástica Mexicana’, and exhibited there several times.
Under the pseudonym ‘Dolores Cienfuegos’ Nancy captured her experiences also in the book of stories “Vivencias Mexicanas”.H.E. Sergio Ugalde Godinez, Ambassador of Costa Rica, the Ambassador of Mexico H.E. Eduardo Ibarrola and Mr Herman von Hebel, Registrar of the International Criminal Court.
Still, Nancy never lost her Dutch roots. In a time when the bike was a rarity in the hectic streets of México City, it was for Nancy van Overveldt the most natural thing in the world to take her daughters to school on the bike.
In the seventies, her work expressed movements of water, fire and air. Paintings called ‘Transformations’ appear; huge colourful canvases were forms continuously merge into other forms that often culminate in the figure of a bird, which seems to fly out of the canvas. These expressive transformation paintings, mark the beginning of a new period of Nancy van Overveldt’s life where she decided to return to Holland.
In 1976 Nancy returned to the Netherlands. In this more dark and compact world a new path to follow developed, by observing nature were birds, trees, clouds and the repetitive reflections on dark water become ever smaller and are drawn to the low light on the horizon.
From 1980, the horizon would become the source of Nancy’s inspiration. From one point on the canvas, round and pointed patterns emerge becoming larger like an explosion, as they spiral out to the edges. It takes months to bring harmony into these playful patterns. Later, living in the polder landscape of Lelystad, her work is influenced by spaces, wind and sunrays and continues to develop. In her latest paintings, the horizon becomes an arch and openings are created to other spaces where interesting figures tell amazing stories.
Nancy van Overveldt painted every single day of her life and continued painting till the end of her life, June 2015, when she passed away.
This exhibition, focuses on her earliest paintings made in México, and portrays on one hand, the swirling, colorful life of Mexico and on the other hand is a selection of the Transformation paintings and a subsequent period, that of entering her inner world, amidst the more structured Dutch atmosphere, were she later pictures the changing colors of the seasons in rhythmic landscapes with horses, bulls, birds and bicycles.
Nancy van Overveldt in her own unique way, was a bridge between these two beautiful worlds Mexico and The Netherlands, that represented the source of inspiration for her paintings.
The reception hosted at the Mexican Gallery in The Hague greets Nancy’s art and Mexican general culture as well.
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For visits or additional information:
Mexican Embassy: cultura@embamex.nl / 070 310 8957
Website: nancyvanoverveldtcollection.com
Email: infoart@nancyvanoverveldtcollection.com / +31(0)3565810
On the picture, the Ambassador of Sudan Her Excellency Rahma Salih Elobied.By Roy Lie A Tjam.
The Embassy of the Republic of the Sudan in the Netherlands, in collaboration with NABC (The Netherlands-Africa Business Centre) hosted the First Sudan Business Seminar at the Word Trade Center in The Hague on Thursday 27 October 2016.
Her Excellency Rahma Salih Elobied rolled out the welcome mat for the many participants. Subsequent to that, the following speakers enthralled the audience with their presentations to discern the business opportunities as well as the investment climate of the Republic of the Sudan:
Irene Visser – NABC
Martin de Jong – The Frisian
Dr Nagi Iskander A. Masoud – Embassy of Sudan
Martijn Moonen – RVO
Bernard Klassen – Koudijs Aninal Nutrition
Maurice Bol – Van Vliets Trucks BV
Dennis Janssen – MPS Meat Processing
Faustine Lescanne (MC)NABC
Arne Doornebal – NABC
The seminar was a tremendous opportunity for potential investors to receive responses to their questions. In the seminar, it was revealed with great emphasis that:
Sudan’s priority investment sectors are agriculture, mining and petroleum. As a result, the agri-business sector – although already well-developed – still has a wide-range of opportunities in the poultry, fish, dairy, and vegetable industries.
The Sudanese population is known for being hard-workers and for their honesty. Therefore, the citizens put great emphasis on finding the right partners.
To remit funds from Sudan, it is advisable to make use of the Dirham currency, instead of the U.S. Dollar, via intermediary banks in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States.
The Sudanese government offers important incentives to attract investors to Sudan. The Sudan Important Aspects the Investment Encouragement Act is part of it. This act guarantees the non-confiscation or sequestration of invested funds and the non-nationalization or expropriation of a project.
To conclude this successful seminar,a Q&A session was hosted. A panel answered the questions.
By Roy Lie A Tjam.
The first ever biking spree for diplomats in The Hague was held on Saturday, 5 November 2016. The group of participants was made up of cyclists of all ages, first-time riders/new riders as well as veteran riders. Participating were Ambassadors, diplomats, from Bangladesh, Iraq, Malaysia, Mexico, Germany, Canada, Sweden, Israel, Indonesia, Belgium, Turkey, USA, Italy and Japan.
For additional Kim Vermaat’t pictures please open the following link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/121611753@N07/albums/72157674903236071Ambassadors of Bangladesh, H.E. Sheik Mohammed Belal, Malaysia, H.E. Mr. Ahmad Nazri Yusof, Mexico H.E. Eduardo Ibarrola, Sweden, H.E. Per Holmström, Israel, H.E. Mr. Aviv Shir-On and Iraq, H.E. Saywan Barsani.
The objectives of the ride were to promote inclusion and to provide an opportunity for networking; all while having fun and exploring The Hague’s beautiful environment.
Mr Masaki Sugamiya, Counsellor General Affairs, Ms Maasa Imada, Legal Advisor/Researcher and Mr Hidenori Akasaka, Embassy of Japan.
The biking spree departed from Carlton Ambassador Hotel, travelled in the direction of Wassenaar, and returned via Haagse Bos to end at the Buitenhof in the city centre. Along the way, stops were made at interesting sights and group photos were taken at the rear of the Palace Huis ten Bosch and a nearby lake.
Front line: Anna Maria Mistretta, Embassy of Italy, H.E. Eduardo Ibarrola, Ambassador of Mexico, H.E. Mr Saywan Barsani, Ambassador of Iraq, H.E. Mr. Ahmad Nazri Yusof, Ambassador of Malaysia. Second line: Richard Gopaul and John Tilstra, USA Embassy, H.E. Mr. Aviv Shir-On, Ambassador of Israel, Judge Alexander Beelaerts van Blokland, Mr. Muzaffar Bin Durahim, Embassy of Malaysia.
Following the bike ride, all participants were invited for lunch at a renowned restaurant in the center of The Hague. Diplomat magazine appreciates the participation of all attendees and their contributions to making this a very successful event. We hope that it will become an annual event.
By Catherine Ann Dailey.
Early morning on Wednesday November 9, some 1,000 registrants and guests gathered at the Grand Hotel Amrâth Kurhaus to participate in the “Who’s the President Breakfast” organized by the Stichting OAR (Overseas Americans Remember), in cooperation with the Embassy of the United States of America and the Amrâth Kurhaus.
The event, which has become a local tradition, brought together “guests from everywhere” and many American voters, both Republicans and Democrats, stood “side by side, in the best tradition of democracy,” to watch CNN’s election results, as they came in, on an enormous big screen.
For additional Kim Vermaat’s pictures, please open the following link:https://www.flickr.com/photos/121611753@N07/albums/72157676262751926Colonel Jack van Elten, from the Dutch Ministry of Defence.
As early as 5:00 a.m, members of the media, local politicians, American diplomats, ex-pats, and American dual-nationals, began arriving for the celebratory event in honor of American democracy and, ultimately, of President-elect Donald J. Trump, Vice President-elect Mike Pence and the movement that has become known as the “Trump Train.”
In addition to the well represented American community who were present, members of the Dutch media, military, business community and countless others were present to witness, with one another, this morning’s historic event.
A palpable excitement was in the air as guests entered the main hall of Amrâth Kurhaus which had been colorfully decorated for the occasion. Adding to the color, was an impressive display of the 50 state flags of the United States draped over the balustrades above them. Live jazz music played, while the crowd enjoyed an extended buffet breakfast as they watched the election results roll in. Within an hour, the excitement became more subdued, as it became increasingly clear that the candidate, heavily favored by both the media and political elite, faced a stunning defeat of historic proportions.
Interested parties, who may have relied on the mainstream media to report on matters of importance to the American voters in a neutral and accurate manner, may have been stunned by the outcome. Perhaps, they were unaware that just 5 media conglomerates control approximately 90% of American news media, which heavily favored the “first female candidate.”
Their message, crafted from the results of “focus groups” and DC, LA and NYC political consultants was in stark contrast to the scrappy and largely web-based campaign waged by the Trump Movement, which spectacularly harnessed the power of the new media and social media to communicate their message directly to American voters—to effectively bypass the gate-keepers of the corporate controlled MSM (mainstream media).
Jan van der Loos and Catherine Dailey.
Today, Americans staunchly repudiated the globalist agenda in favor of a political outsider with a populist and nationalistic message who is promising to begin with “restoring honesty and accountability, and bringing change to Washington” in his 100 day “Action Plan” titled “Donald Trump’s Contract with the American Voter,” which was first presented in his now famous October 22, 2016 “Gettysburg Address Speech” and has been widely published in pdf format on the web.
Today’s results clearly show that he message was resonated with the hopes and dreams of “everyday Americans.”
On his first day in office, President-elect Trump has promised to clean up corruption in Washington by “enacting tough new ethics reforms, restore prosperity to the country, secure communities, and honesty” in order to once more have “a have a government of, by and for the American people” as was it was envisioned by the founding fathers and set forth in the U.S. Constitution. Most importantly, Trump campaign has pledged that by following his “Action Plan”, Americans will be able to “Make America Great Again.”
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The event was also sponsored by:
Donald Trump won USA presidential elections in an unexpectable for many in The Hague and determinant turnover of the results pools and medias predicted.
As many as 278 electoral votes far more than the 270 he needed to win and with that the control of the Senate and the second chamber.
Ingrid van Engelshoven, Deputy Mayor, Department of International Affairs and Aviv Shir-On, Ambassador of Israel.
After Trump reached 268 of the electoral votes, Hilary Clinton’s headquarters announced that she will not deliver a speech today and asked partisans to go to bed.
Historical triumph for Mr Donald Trump, now the 45 elected president of the USA. Passed 3 AM this morning his speech before the crowded Republican headquarters was conciliatory and invited all Americans to come together as one, promised to work with every country willing to do it fairly and trusty.
Thanked his family, team, supporters, and the secret service but also congratulates Hilary Clinton for her long service and work during the campaign.
H.E. Olexander Horin, Ambassador of Ukraine and spouse Dr. Natalia Tymoshenko.“I will be the president for all American, those who did not vote for me, we can work together an unified our great country. Ours was not a campaign but an incredible movement made out of incredible man and women that dreamed for a better country, who wants to serve their country and serve it well, rebuild the American dream. I made my entire life working around the word, looking for opportunities and potential; now I will do it for our country, to all Americans, you will not be forget any more. We will build bridges, schools hospitals, we rebuild our infrastructure and will put million of our people back to work. It is time for us to come together as one united people.” Trump declared.
Mayor of Wassenaar, the Honourable Mr Jan Hoekema.
Reactions from many countries are coming profusely, Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy said: “EU tides with the USA are stronger than any changes, we will work together.”
Clinton’s team was hunted since few days already about the idea to loos the elections, even if the medias and most of the pools were given the victory to her, just Donald Trump’s team keep the faith until the very end to ended in an amazing and historical victory.
Emmanuelle de Foy, Minister Counsellor, Embassy of Belgium, Ellen Brager and Verena Gräfin von Roedern, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Germany.
Who’s the President Breakfast 2016 at Kurhaus was packed already at 5 am, live music, food, champagne a colourful and majestic central salon decorated with USA theme, flags, balloons, hats and of course Uncle Sam. Many diplomats attended the invitation sent by the USA Embassy, Diplomat Magazine and the organisers among them Ambassadors of Ukraine, Israel and Canada; Ministers from Belgium, Germany, Kenya and many other countries.
Trump is the higher elected Republican in all history, as he said today “The campaign is over , our job just began, you will be so proud to your president. I love this country.”Verena Gräfin von Roedern, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Germany and the Ambassador of Canada, H.E. Ms Sabine Eva Nölke.
The Ambassador of Colombia H.E. Juan Jose Quintana.On 31 October 2016, the Colombian Ambassador Juan Jose Quintana gave a lecture about Colombia. It was addressed to the Dutch students of the “Doing Business in Latin America” minor at The Hague University of Applied Sciences.The aim of the Embassy was to promote the country in a didactic way, providing practical advice especially to the group of students who will be traveling to Colombia and participate in the exchange program at the School of Higher Administrative Studies (CESA) in Bogota. Cultural, socio-economic, commercial balance and bilateral relation between the Netherlands and Colombia were presented during the lecture in order to complement the acquired knowledge in the minor.After the lecture, the Embassy hosted a brief reception with Colombian empanadas and arepas, as well as promotional material of the country. The purpose was to offer an experience in Colombian cuisine prior to their trip.
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Photography by Wim van der Spiegel.
On the picture Alfonso Dastis Quecedo,Foreign Affairs Minister of the Kingdom of Spain.Madrid, November 2016: Henceforth the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation shall be Alfonso Dastis Quecedo, who hitherto served as the country’s permanent representative to the EU. He replaces José Manuel García-Margallo y Marfíl in office between 2011 and 2016. Born in Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz, Andalusia) in 1955, Dastis Quecedo graduated in law. He entered the diplomatic service in 1983, and has worked as Executive Adviser in the Cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Counsellor at the Permanent Representation of Spain to the UN, Adviser to the Prime Minister, Director at the Unit in charge of the Spanish Presidency of the European Union Council back in 2002 as well as Secretary General for European Affairs. His first ambassadorship took him to The Netherlands in 2004, thereafter he served in Brussels at the Permanent Representation to the EU, whereof he became the chief diplomat in 2012. For further information:Minister Alfonso Dastis: http://www.exteriores.gob.es/Portal/es/Ministerio/Ministro/Paginas/Biografia.aspxPermanent Representation of Spain to the EU: https://representacionpermanente.euEmbassy of Spain to The Netherlands, Mission to the OPCW (HE Ambassador Fernando Arias): http://www.exteriores.gob.es/Embajadas/LAHAYA/es/Embajada/Paginas/Embajador.aspx
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Alfonso Dastis Quecedo – Picture by EU Regional on Flickr