On the picture King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and the Ambassador of Cambodia, Thireak Chea – Picture by Rotapool, Remko de Waal. Credentials from Cambodia and Malawi in NL His Majesty King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands received credentials on Wednesday morning, 25 November 2015, at Noordeinde Palace in The Hague of the heads of mission (non-resident) of the Kingdom of Cambodia, HE Ambassador Thireak Chea and the Republic of Malawi, HE Ambassador Tedson Aubrey Kalebe. Both embassies are based in Brussels.

 

On the picture ASEAN ambassadors and Mayor of Mons-Bergen, Elio di Rupo. 2 October 2015, Wallonia, Belgium: heads of mission and representatives from the ASEAN Brussels Committee visited Wallonia in the framework of events organised by the Wallonia Foreign Trade and Investment Agency (AWEX). For a photo album, please click here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/121611753@N07/albums In the programme a business networking lunch at the Castle of Namur, a meeting with the Mayor of Mons/Bergen and former (50th) Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo were included as well as visits to the Catholic University of Louvain and the ASEAN Welcome Office at Crealys Science Park.

At the business networking lunch the ambassadors, chargés d’affaires and diplomats met with Vice President and Minister of Economy, Industry, Innovation and New Technologies of the Walloon Government Jean-Claude Marcourt, CEO of AWEX Pascale Delcomminette as well as various Belgian enterprises in Wallonia. For more information: AWEX: http://www.investinwallonia.be/?lang=en Photographs by J. Van Belle from Wallonia-Brussels International (WBI)

On the picture Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü, Director-General of the OPCW.   The Twentieth Session of the Conference of the States Parties (CSP) to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) opened today at the World Forum in The Hague, Netherlands. The CSP is the principal organ of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), and consists of all members of the OPCW. It meets annually and oversees the implementation of the Convention. “The Twentieth Session of the Conference of States Parties is taking place at a crucial moment” said the Director-General of the OPCW, Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü. “We are celebrating the achievements of the Organisation, most notably in the verified destruction of over 90 per cent of the declared stocks of chemical weapons, and are looking forward to meeting new challenges. Our work will continue to ensure full universality and prevent the re-emergence of a chemical weapons threat in the future”. For additional pictures on the OPCW opening 20th session, please open the following link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/121611753@N07/albums/72157659536782793

A special message from the Secretary General of the United Nations, H.E. Mr. Ban Ki-Moon was delivered at the opening session of the CSP. He underlined that “the Convention is a critical part of the international disarmament architecture” and called “upon those States that are not yet a party to the CWC to accede to it at the earliest possible date.” The Conference will discuss the progress of implementation of the Convention globally, including new and important developments including the OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism tasked with the endeavour to identify those responsible to use of chemicals as weapons in Syria.

  At a ceremony  today, Dr Alastair Hay of the United Kingdom and Dr Mahdi Balali-Mood of the Islamic Republic of Iran will receive the second annual OPCW-The Hague Award, for their outstanding contribution to achieving a world free of chemical weapons. The Conference is expected to establish an Advisory Board on Education and Outreach. Its role will be to render specialised advice regarding the Organisation’s education and outreach activities, and those of States Parties’ with a view to making these more effective and sustainable. The Conference will also adopt the 2016 programme and budget for the OPCW Technical Secretariat. A number of  side events with civil society participation have been planned for the week of the Conference, covering a range of issues  that impact the implementation of the CWC, including: emerging artificial intelligence technologies, ethical guidelines for chemical research and industry, medical management of chemical warfare casualties, and others. OPCW’s documentary series, the Fires, will also be screened.

  This year’s conference is attended by representatives of 128 out of the total of 192 States Parties, together with eight international organisations, specialised agencies and other international bodies, in addition to over a hundred representatives of 52 non-governmental organisations from all over the world. Documents, videos, photos and other information from the Conference can be found on the CSP-20 page of the OPCW website at: https://www.opcw.org/about-opcw/conference-of-the-states-parties/twentieth-session-of-the-conference-of-the-states-parties/

On the picture jazz singer Dira Sugandi. By Roy Lie A Tjam. The auditorium of the internationally renowned Royal Conservatorium was too small to contain the great Indonesian artist Dwiki Dharmawan and his collaborators. Dwiki Dharma wan, is not new to The Hague, he performed here before at the North Sea Jazz Festival. The group put on a dazzling show. As Mr. Ibnu Wahyutomo, Charge d’ Affaires a.i. of the Indonesian Embassy indicated in his welcome address, Dwiki Dharma wan was to show a different Indonesia. No batik gamelan or other traditional stuff but a contemporary Indonesia. This is exactly what happened the evening of 20 November. The Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in The Hague in collaboration with the Indonesian Cultural House (Rumah Budaya Indonesia/ RBI) organized “Indonesia Jazz Night” at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Den Haag, the birthplace of young and talented musical artists in the Netherlands. In a welcoming remark, Mr. Ibnu Wahyutomo – Charge d’ Affaires ad interim of the Indonesian Embassy highlighted the flourishing musical interests and the growing number of rich talented Indonesian jazz musicians, who are known for fusing the archipelago’s rich traditional music and modern jazz instruments. While music is as a universal language, Mr. Wahyutomo pledged to make similar events an annual event in the Netherlands. Among the popular artists who performed during the “Indonesia Jazz Night” are Dwiki Dharma wan, Towpath (guitarist), Dira Sugandi (jazz singer). For the opening song, Dwiki Dharmawan and friends performed his song of Jazz for Freeport. Along with a talented young Indonesian guitarist Tohpati and jazz singer Dira Sugandi, they played 12 songs such as Frog Dance, Lukisan Pagi (morning painting), Whale Dancer, Bubuy Bulan (traditional Indonesian West Java song), Lamalera’s Dream, Arafura and Spirit of Peace. Dwiki Dharmawan is an award winning musical artists and is the founder of a world famous Indonesian jazz band of “Krakatau”. Whilst being a cultural and peace activist, he launched World Peace Orchestra (WPO), which fosters social harmony and global awareness. Tohpati, one of the many young talented Indonesian jazz guitarists and songwriter, has several recorded musical albums. Dira Sugandi, is an Indonesian singer and actress and in 2011 performed a duet with Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli during a concert in Jakarta. During the side-lines, Indonesian young Papuans performed Sajojo Dance (Friendship Dance) as well as Indonesian students from Eindhoven played musical pieces – “New York New York” and “Love” out of Angklung instruments. Angklung is a musical instrument from Indonesia made of two to four bamboo tubes attached to a bamboo frame. Indonesia Jazz Night filled up the Conservatorium Hall and was attended by various diplomats, Dutch officials, musicians, students and the Indonesian community in The Netherlands.