By Roy Lie A Tjam. The centuries old Kasteel De Wittenburg Wassenaar, a UNESCO site, served as the location for the First Bangladesh Tourism Networking Event on the 12th October 2016. Referring to the venue Ambassador Sheikh Mohammed Belal facetiously remarked, finding one’s way to the Kasteeel could be difficult, it is similarly difficult to find out about tourism opportunities in Bangladesh (laughter). The event took place in a pleasant and lay-backed atmosphere. The organizer of the event was the Embassy of the Republic of Bangladesh in The Hague under the direction of H.E Sheikh Mohamed Belal, with support from their Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Participants in the seminar included; the Bangladesh Tourism Authority, tour operators. Other members of the Bangladesh delegation were representatives of Straightway tours, Escape Bd, Bengal Logistics and Golpata Ecotours along with their Dutch counterparts and tour operators from Belgium. After the welcome remarks by Ambassador Belal, he introduced his subject – An introduction of Bangladesh as a country. The Ambassador spoke frankly, from the heart whilst the Ambassadors dwelled on the striking similarities between the Netherlands and Bangladesh, to note a few; water, wind and the scarcity of land. “Bangladesh can learn a great deal from the Netherlands in how to deal with these phenomena as Bangladesh finds itself in the same situation as the Netherlands did many years ago.” Regarding terrorism both are combating terrorism. Ambassador Belal noted, “IS is neither Islamic nor is it a State.”

Ambassador Belal was quickly followed by Dr Aparup Chowdhury; Chairman of the Government Tourism Organization in Bangladesh. Dr Chowdhury indicated how the Honourable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina declared the year 2016 as the year of Tourism, with Cox Bazaar being the country’s top tourist attraction due its 120km of unbroken sandy beaches. Dr Chowdhury also added the Shrines of Chittagong and the Mosques of Dhaka to the list of top attractions in Bangladesh. As for the government’s plans, policy and program in order to facilitate tourism to Bangladesh, the government envisages a simplified visa system that introduces a E-visa system. Dr Chowdhury called Bangladesh a “truly Asian” destination. The following speaker was Mrs. Joke Wittekoek who touched on the factor Tourism in Bangladesh from a tour operator’s perspective. Mrs. Wittekoek is the owner of a tourism agency and in her speech she reflected upon the opportunities for Bangladeshi tourism and how it could prosper. There were interesting short promotional films between the discourses.

• Beautiful Bangladesh School of life,
• Visit Bangladesh – Life happens here,
• Beautiful Bangladesh Land of stories

The seminar had a session in which tour operators from both sides met on a one-one basis. Towards the end of the event Mr. Karel Kipperi, a Dutch producer and actor in the film Land of Stories delivered a speech. Kuiperi has been to all corners of the land which he loves so dearly; Bangladesh. The discourse delivered by the duo Karel and Joke, who have both been living in Bangladesh for many years could be considered as a summary of recommendations for the audience and Bangladesh in general to take on board for the future. Both provided an invaluable insight on what might be of interest to a Dutch tourist, how to entice the tourist to visit Bangladesh, a beautiful country with incredible natural and geographical beauties and above all their incredibly hospitable people. The purpose of the seminar was to help the Dutch Tour operators to better understand Bangladesh. Simultaneously to enhance existing situations and develop new attraction that can compete on the growing global tourism market.      

Pictured Ambassador H.E. Mrs. Iffat Imran Gardezi. By Roy Lie A Tjam. The latest Diplomats’ Meet and Greet, organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Pakistan in collaboration with Diplomat magazine, Carlton Ambassador and Diplomatic Card, attracted many guests. They came to the Carlton Ambassador Hotel on 26 September 2016 to meet Pakistan’s new Ambassador H.E. Mrs. Iffat Imran Gardezi. Video by Mirza Kamram. For additional Kim Vermaat & Roy Strik’s pictures, please open the following link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/121611753@N07/albums/72157674029935902

Mrs. Gardezi, Pakistan’s 21^st Ambassador to the Netherlands, likes her new post and will perpetuate the friendly relationship existing between her country and the Netherlands. During her stint in The Hague she will be working towards getting more Dutch enterprises interested in investing in Pakistan.

After being welcomed with Pakistani mango beverages, guests were treated to tasty Pakistani snacks and a presentation of Basmati rice, one of Pakistan’s most popular export items.

The diplomatic community in the Netherlands is active and dynamic, with Ambassador Gardezi being the most recent in a long list of new arrivals.

Photography by Kim Vermaat and Roy Strik.      

By Roy Lie A Tjam. Indonesia Jazz night, 2016 edition at the Royal Conservatory The Hague, was held from 13 to 14 October 2016. The fabulous event was held under the auspices of no other than H.E. Mr. Dwiki Dharmawan, who did it again this year, captivating the audience with a dazzling performance alongside his team. For additional Marian van Noort’s pictures, please open the following link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/121611753@N07/albums/72157675387809475 His special collaborators for the evening included Dewa Budjana, electric guitarist, and one of Indonesia’s most vibrant musicians; Aning Katamsi, soprano, who has been performing nationally and internationally for nearly 30 years; Yarra Arnes, vocals, a rising star in Indonesia’s music scene; and Ita Purnamasari, vocals, who has received many awards and is another regular international performer. Some of the numbers featured on the program were Gita Malam, dream time, Gangga, Melati Suci, and spirit of peace to name but a few. As Ambassador I Gusti Agung Wesaka Puja indicated in his welcome address, the jazz night is intended to accentuate the friendly relationship between Indonesia and the Netherlands. Music unites and is without frontiers, he noted. All who attended the spectacular evening returned home their spirits lifted.  

On the picture Jan Dop and Rainier Russell. On 22 September 2016, Russell Advocaten hosted an interactive seminar for Embassies and Consulates in the Netherlands. The meeting was a great success and attended by many different Embassies. The seminar consisted of three parallel workshops on the most important topics pertaining to international diplomatic missions in The Netherlands, namely:

• Employment Law
• Real Estate (buying, selling, investments, permits)
• Dealing with the Dutch – Investment in the Netherlands

Using practical examples, including cases presented by the participants, the specialist lawyers of Russell Advocaten identified key issues of every topic that Embassies and companies of the home country should be aware of to prevent problems. Russell Advocaten has served as trusted advisor to many Embassies, Consulates, diplomats, expats and companies from the home country over the past decades (www.embassydesk.nl). The special Embassy desk at Russell Advocaten handles a. o. cases pertaining to employment, labour and dismissal, real estate (Residence/Embassy), immigration, commercial contracts, diplomatic immunity and diplomatic inviolability. In case you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Jan Dop (Partner/Head of Embassy Desk) at embassydesk@russell.nl. Photography by Kim Vermaat.

The Embassy of Romania in the Netherlands organised the photo-documentary exhibition “Righteous Among Nations”, hosted by The Hague City Hall. The occasion of the event is Romania’s Chairmanship of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. H.E. Ms Brânduşa Predescu, Ambassador of Romania to the Netherlands, invited diplomats and other honourable guests for the opening of the exhibition, followed by a reception on 5 October 2016. Ambassador Predescu, welcomed the honourable guests, and spoke about the black page in our history that is the Holocaust. A brief quotation of the Ambassador’s address follows. “The Holocaust is part of the history of Europe and Romania. It is a part of the history of mentalities, policies and practices that negatively marked civilization and modernization and showed its confines. The tragedy of the Jews of Romania is a black page in the history of Romania during the period 1938-1944. The Holocaust is unique and must be recognized its appropriate value in education. It symbolizes the supreme Evil in our times because of the way in which plans for mass extermination of an ethnic community were designed and implemented for the first time using industrial means. In the city of peace and justice, the only ingredients that bring out the best in us, humans, namely humanity, tolerance, generosity and lack of fear, we invite you to walk with us through these individual stories about humanity, about people helping people. We invite you to remember what cannot be forgotten and what should never be repeated.” The Ambassadors speech was followed by words by Mrs. Nira Staretz, the cultural attaché of the Embassy of Israel in The Hague and Mr. Floris van Dijk, member of the Dutch delegation to the International Alliance for Holocaust Remembrance. Mrs. Staretz mentioned the importance of teaching our children what happened, so that this should never happen again. Mr. Floris van Dijk spoke about the difficulty of facing your own past and the importance of fact finding and transparency, which will help to understand. The exhibition features many stories, including that of Constantin Karadja, a Romanian diplomat born in The Hague, who saved over 51.000 Jewish lives. During his research Mr. Van Dijk found the original birth certificate of Constantin Karadja in the archives of The Hague. The Romanian Ambassador received copies of the original birth certificate of Constantin Karadja, and the birth and death certificate of his older brother as a gift. Upon receiving this gift Ambassador Brânduşa Predescu expressed gratitude. “This gift is more important than attendants can imagine. Karadja is a mythical legend. He represents a stepping stone in diplomatic education. He is the composer of the one and only bible of diplomacy. We are very grateful for this gift, which will be placed in the diplomatic archive in Bucharest.” The ceremony was followed by a reception, where the honourable guests had the pleasure of tasting Romanian wines. Romania is chairman of the International Holocaust Remembrance Allicance (IHRA) from March 2016 to March 2017, more information upon this subject can be found here: https://www.holocaustremembrance.com/about-us/chairmanship More information about Constantin Karadja can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantin_Karadja  

License to Fill..    On the picture Mrs. Middori Inomata and the Ambassador of Japan H.E. Hiroshi Inomata, Ms Maja Steenwijk, Ambassador of Indonesia H.E. Mr. I Gusti Agung Wesaka Puja and Mrs. Rusdijana Puja, Ambassador of India H.E. Mr. J. S. Mukul, Ambassador of Servia   H.E. Mr. Petar Vico, The Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Mr. Aldo Cavalli, Mrs. Mita Mukul with their daughter, Ambassador of Ukraine H.E. Olexander Horin and Mrs. Natallia Tymoshenko, Ambassador Panama H.E. Willys del Valle Mrs. Tatiana Delvalle and daughter Daniella. Also Ambassador of Bolivia H.E. Eduardo Roddriguez Veltze, Ambassador of Azerbaijdjan H.E. Mr. Mir-Hamza Efendiyev and son. By Maja Steenwijk. Our trip to the Heineken Brewery in Zoeterwoude was a great experience for many ambassadors who enjoyed the trip. Upon arrival in the Brewhouse we were met by the Master Brewer of Heineken who is globally responsible for the taste of Heineken beers and came over from Italy specially for the group of ambassadors. After expending all day with us he departed to Argentina in the evening. The ingredients are: hop, barley malt, brew water and yeast is added afterwards to get alcohol,  co-2 and the aroma’s. The main brewery are normally producing Heineken, Amstel and several brand beers. The capacity of the brewery is 13,5 million hectoliter with a production per hour of

• 700.000    bottles
• 90.000    cans
• 48.000    draughtkegs
• 1.000   kegs ( 3- 50 liter)

The Central Control Room is the place where they control the brewing process. In the bottling halls that we visited about 60 to 70 % of the production is destined for export. Upon leaving the ambassadors received a very nice present and the most important thing is that they have seen the making of….Heineken.