On the Picture The Ambassador or Iraq and his wife Besma Fayed.
H.E. Dr. Abdulmajeed Saad Ibrahim Al-Ali has had a farewell audience at Noordeinde Palace with His Majesty King Willem-Alexander. The meeting marked the end of H.E. Dr. Abdulmajeed Saad Ibrahim Al-Ali’s term as the Republic of Iraq’s 13th Ambassador to The Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Pierre Ménat. Photography La Tribune Fr.“An Ambassador under the Tunisian Revolution” by Pierre Ménat, Editions Pepper.
The previous Ambassador of France to The Netherlands, known in The Hague for his commitment to diplomacy, his professionalism and his know-how, Pierre Ménat just published a book. And what a book it is!
One could call it a historic document as it relates his experience of living in Tunisia as the Ambassador of France while the country was in full revolution. “An Ambassador under the Tunisian Revolution” is a highly anticipated book. It is not only the testimony of Pierre Ménat, Ambassador of France in Tunisia at the time of the revolution that ended the Ben Ali regime in 2011. It is also a great analysis of the profession of ambassador: the responsibilities and commitments, the projects of cooperation, the media and political games.
Pierre Ménat, who was recalled to Paris shortly after January 14, 2011, waited five years before writing “An Ambassador under the Tunisian Revolution” because of the discretion his position demanded. Now that he is free to speak, he gives us a first-hand confession of his experiences on the frontline with a careful analysis of the events that occurred after his arrival in Tunisia in 2009 and the democratic transition of the country up today.
For additional information:http://www.editions-harmattan.fr/index.asp?navig=catalogue&obj=livre&no=48451https://pmenat.wordpress.com/
By Kim Vermaat.
A new food grocery market has opened in Delft (conveniently located next to the highway). Dutch consumers can’t shop here but Diplomats with credentials/I.D. are more then welcome.
For a photo album on the opening of Hanos, please click here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/121611753@N07/albums
And it is not only a store it is a food experience. Meet from New-Zealand & Australia, an extensive wine department including a Grand Cru section and huge non-food department are among the products available.
Most are own import and can’t be found in normal dutch stores.
International startup related to air travels/tourism
On 15.10.2015 international startup related to air travels/tourism has begun its activity. On the web page www.checktheairport.com you can find collected information about airports from around the world (currently over 720 airports).
It is the first website in the world of this kind.
‘The idea of the web page came when we got stuck for over 12 hours at the airport in Mumbai. Due to the lack of information on what you can do at the airport or possible city tours, we decided to collect this information on our own and post it in one place for other people travelling by airplanes’ says Adam Bosy, the founder of web page checktheairport.com.
The website has focused on functionality and simplicity. An airport can be searched by using the menu continent-country, a search engine (just type in the airport name, city or IATA code), or using an interactive map.
On the website you will find i.a.: – General info – address information, geographic location (including a map), terminals and transfer between them, time zones, currency of the given country and the current weather, – Facilities – everything that is at the airport: starting from ATMs and ending with showers and luggage storage rooms, – Transport – how to get to the city (road transport, rail, car rentals and even air or water transport), – Tourist attractions – main interchange cities are described – tourist attractions have been added along with their location, opening hours and ticket prices, – Ability to comment and add information by readers.
Additionally, the web page includes practical tips related to travelling by airplane (air travel ABC, luggage, transportation, travel with children, travel with pets, travel medicine, etc.).
The website is in English, however, standardized icons help people intuitively navigate through the site even if they have a basic knowledge of the language.
All the information on checktheairport.com is free of charge and the registration is not required.
Conference Strategic Business Diplomacy – Dealing with global legitimacy challenges in international business by the Windesheim University of Applied Sciences.Multinational enterprises experienced ‘golden days’ during the 1990s and 2000s. They expanded globally and were major players in globalisation. Today they have become powerful actors in the global economy. CEOs of international businesses are invited by governments to help solve global issues such as climate change and poverty. However, MNEs are facing global legitimacy challenges. They are suspected of tax avoidance, using low wage countries for corporate benefits only, disrespecting privacy regulation and so on. Although many of these challenges are not new, they have resurfaced and become more apparent during the past couple of years. Strategic business diplomacy can help international businesses to deal with these issues.Goal and outcomes to targetWe hereby invite you at the 1st International Conference on Business Diplomacy. Key issues that will be addressed are: what is business diplomacy exactly? How do multinational enterprises conduct business diplomacy? What kind of business is involved in business diplomacy? And how does business diplomacy look like in emerging markets?
The conference is of interest to international business representatives, diplomats, consultants in the field of business diplomacy (government relations, international stakeholder management), NGO representatives and politicians.
Outcomes to target are: policy and strategy outcomes, policy/practitioners press, proceedings, a research agenda, inputs for international publications.
Programme and registrationMorning session with keynote speakers (morning)Roundtable sessions (afternoon)Speakers:Professor Ross Harrison, Georgetown University, Washington D.C., USAProfessor Roel Nieuwenkamp, Chair of the OECD Working Party on Responsible Business ConductMr. Christopher Nason, Director Corporate Intelligence at PWCProfessor Donna Lee, Professor of political economy, Bradford University (UK) and dean of the Social Sciences facultyChair/moderator: Prof. dr. Jan Melissen, ClingendaelLocation and date:The 1st International Conference on Business Diplomacy will take place at Windesheim University of Applied Sciences in Zwolle (The Netherlands), on Friday 4 December 2015.Cost:The cost for this conference amounts € 45,=, including lunch. This amount you can pay via PayPal or credit card. Information and registration: http://www.windesheim.nl/over-windesheim/agenda/2015/december/strategic-business-diplomacy/If you have an urgent request, please contact hjm.ruel@windesheim.nl
The Cecilia International Choir of The Hague – Christmas Carol Concerts.
The Cecilia International Choir invites you to its two Christmas Carol Concerts in The Hague. Join us for an evening of traditional British carols and seasonal refreshments to get into the Christmas spirit.
Special features of this year’s programme will be Zoltán Kodály’s composition Adventi ének (Veni, veni Emmanuel) and the beautiful five-part interpretation of the Magnificat by Francesco Durante. Our pianist Lucie de Saint Vincent and organist David Schlaffke will accompany the choir and its guest soprano Nikki Treurniet.
The concerts are under the enthusiastic leadership of our young French conductor, Marine Fribourg. In addition to the pieces sung by the choir, there are opportunities for the audience to sing along with well-known carols, such as “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” and “The First Nowell”.
To further enhance the Christmas atmosphere, seasonal interval refreshments – mince pies and mulled wine – are included in the admission price. This year, the choir has also been invited to perform at the Sloterkerk in Amsterdam. This will be a shorter duration matinee concert, featuring the choir and the organist.
The Cecilia International Choir is a mixed voice group of approximately 70 singers. Starting in 1976 as the British Choir, we gradually attracted both local Dutch members and expatriates from many different cultures who wanted to enjoy singing in an English speaking environment. In addition to these Carol Concerts, the choir rehearses classical choral works, which are performed in late June.
Dates, times and locations of the carol concerts are:
Sunday 13 December Sloterkerk, Osdorpweg 28, Amsterdam / Start time: 3:00 pm Ticket / Price: €9.00
Tuesday 15 December Oud-Katholieke Kerk, Juffrouw Idastraat 7, Den Haag (Hofkwartier) / Start time: 8:15 p.m. / Ticket price: €20.00 (advance purchase required)
Thursday 17 December Anglican Church of St.John & St.Philip, Ary van der Spuyweg 1, Den Haag (Archipelbuurt). / Start time: : 8:15 p.m /Ticket price: €16.00 and €10.00 for schoolchildren and full-time students
For information on how to reserve and/or purchase tickets for The Hague, please visit our website: www.cecilia-choir.com or send an email to info@cecilia-choir.com
For Amsterdam, please visit the Sloterkerk’s website: www.sloterkerk.nl/reserveren.html We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
By Roy Lie A Tjam.
The Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba in The Hague, H.E. Fermin Gabriel Quinõnes Sánchez and Isabel Docampo Torres, chef of the Cuban Tourism Board based in Berlin Germany, recently hosted a Cuba promotional event at La Bodeguita in de in The Hague.
After warmly welcoming the guests, some of them came all the way from the Northern region of the country. Also present was Cuban diplomat Michael González Castro, who is en route to Jakarta, his new assignment who was on a 24 h stopover. The Ambassador passed the microphone on to Isabel Docampo Torres who had good tidings; Cuban tourism is doing faring well. Here follows an extract from what she had to relate.
”I warmly welcome tour operators, travel agencies, airlines, press and other guests.
We are honored to have you here, we would like to express our gratitude to the officials who have made this occasion possible.
We have worked together to increase the number of visitors to Cuba by means of our campaign Auténtica Cuba, in which we showcase our attractiveness, values, natural wealth as well as cultural wealth.”
Cuba’s condition as an island and its geographical location has rewarded her with beautiful beaches and landscapes. Other strengths such as a warm and hospitable population, quality hotels with a staff offering professional and kind treatment to guests, all have contributed to make Cuba one of the most attractive tourist destinations of insular Caribbean.
By the end of September 2015, nearly 2.6 million individuals had visited Cuba. This is 17.9% more than the previous year and it is expected that the number will reach 3.5 million by the end of this year. The Dutch market has contributed 30,223 visitors, which represent an increase of 23% compared to last year. It is expected that the number will surpass the 36,000 visitors by the end of 2015.
It has been observed that after the reestablishment of the diplomatic ties between Cuba and the United States, there has been an increase in the demands to travel, to make contact and investment. A growing number of businesspeople from many countries, including U.S.A visit Cuba in order to learn about the development of the Cuban tourism industry.
However, it is essential to underline, the U.S. embargo against Cuba remains! Cuba is still the only country to where U.S. citizens cannot travel to.
H.E. Mr Mahmoud Abbas, the President of Palestine and Fatou Bensouda ICC’s prosecutor.
President of Palestine, H.E. Mr Mahmoud Abbas visits the ICC Prosecutor.
The Prosecutor of the International Criminal (“ICC” or the “Court”), Mrs Fatou Bensouda and representatives of her Office received H.E. Mr Mahmoud Abbas, the President of Palestine and his delegation at the Seat of the Court in The Hague, Netherlands. The meeting was held in the margins of President Abbas’ official visit to the Kingdom of The Netherlands.
Referring to the recent escalation of tensions in Israel and Palestine, the Prosecutor stressed the need for calm and restraint from all sides, and an end to the violence. She underscored that innocent people have been injured and killed on both sides, and cautioned that the situation may further degenerate into a large-scale commission of crimes that may fall within the jurisdiction of the ICC.
The Prosecutor opened a preliminary examination of the situation in Palestine in January 2015. In this context, the Prosecutor stated that her Office will also examine whether any of the newly reported incidents of violence constitute crimes falling within the jurisdiction of the ICC, and for the same purpose, will continue to record any new instances of violence or incitement to violence that may occur in the future. She warned that anyone – on either side – who commits, orders, incites, encourages or contributes in any other way to the commission of crimes falling within the jurisdiction of the ICC is liable to prosecution either at the national level or at the Court.
On the picture King Willem Alexander and EP President Martin Schulz – Picture by ANP, Robin Utrecht.His Majesty King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands paid a working visit to the presidents and the institutions of the European Parliament, the European Council as well as the Commission in Brussels on Tuesday, 3 November. He was accompanied by H. E. Bert Koenders Foreign Minister of the Netherlands but not by Queen Máxima who was still a bit unwell after a health mishap during the recent state visit to the PRC. Willem-Alexander, President Juncker and Commissioner Timmermans.The visit was meant as preparation to the Dutch presidency of the EU which shall begin on 1 January 2016 and end 30 June 2016. Notwithstanding His Majesty also took the time to pay a courtesy visit to His representative to Belgium, the newly-accredited Ambassador Maryem van den Heuvel.Ambassador Maryam van den Heuvel and King Willem-Alexander – Picture by Royal Dutch Embassy to Belgium.The visit was arranged by the Netherlands Permanent Representation to the EU headed by Ambassador Pieter de Gooijer.For more information: Permanent Representation of the Netherlands to the EU: http://eu.nlmission.org/Royal Dutch Embassy to Belgium: http://belgie.nlambassade.org/
An annual reception on the occasion of the proclamation of the Czechoslovak State (Československo) on 28 October by its later first president Tomáš Masaryk in 1918 was hosted by Czech ambassadors stationed in Brussels: HE Ambassador Jaroslav Kurfürst, Head of Mission to Belgium, HE Ambassador Jiří Šedivý, Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to NATO and HE Ambassador Martin Povejšil, Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the EU (who however was absent due to a business trip) and his deputy HE Ambassador David Konecký, Permanent Representative to the Political and Security Committee (COPS) and the Prague House led by Ing. Lucie Čadilová.For a photo album on the Czechoslovak Day in Brussels, please click here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/121611753@N07/albums/72157658608660793H. E. David Taylor Ambassdor of New Zealand to the EU and Sweden and H. E. Dr. Natalie Sabanadze Ambassador of Georgia to the EU, Belgium and Luxembourg.For more information:Prague House Brussels: www.prague-house.euEmbassy of the Czech Republic to Belgium: www.mzv.cz/brussels/en/index.htmlPermanent Representation of the Czech Republic to the EU: http://www.mzv.cz/representation_brussels/en/Pictures by Prague House in Brussels
And it is not only a store it is a food experience. Meet from New-Zealand & Australia, an extensive wine department including a Grand Cru section and huge non-food department are among the products available. 
Most are own import and can’t be found in normal dutch stores. 
And it is not only a store it is a food experience. Meet from New-Zealand & Australia, an extensive wine department including a Grand Cru section and huge non-food department are among the products available. 
Most are own import and can’t be found in normal dutch stores. 
