On the picture Mr. Vincent Pahlplatz, Bel Air Hotel, Mrs. Patricia Hollamby, Event Management & Fund Raising and the new General Manager of the Crowne Plaza-Promenade,  Boudewijn Martens.   The end of a warm and pleasant summer has been celebrated on the evening of Thursday September 3th. The 2nd Diplomat After summer Drink organised by Crowne Plaza Hotel Den Haag – Promenade in cooperation with Diplomat Magazine. For more pictures on the After Summer Drink reception, please click here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/121611753@N07/albums/72157658546838480

A cosy atmosphere at the bar of the hotel combined with fresh after summer drinks and delicious bites. The evening started with Equinox Jazz Productions band, presenting the finest of the local and international jazz  and was finalised with a private piano concert by Diplomat Magazine’s pianist Joris van Goudoever. In the cosy bar of the hotel, over 80 ambassadors, diplomats and embassy staff attended this great event. Boudewijn Martens, joined the delegates and introducted himself being the new General Manager of the Crowne Plaza – Promenade. Together with his team Boudewijn allowed the diplomats to share their summer experiences with colleagues and friends, while enjoying the great food, cocktails, drinks and appetizers. The guests are already looking forward to next year’s  Diplomat After Summer Party at Crowne Plaza Den Haag Promenade Hotel.

  The CrownePlaza Den Haag – Promenade has more than 43 years of experience with hosting events for the Corps Diplomatique.  The 174 bedrooms combined with 8 multi-functional meeting rooms, terrace, lobby, bar, restaurant, cigar lounge, 222 private parking spaces and the spacious Prominential Suite of 140m2 makes the hotel the ideal location for every event, an informal meeting in the lobby, a meeting or National day or housing official delegations.

 

On the picture H.E.  Ambassador Dr Alireza Jahangiri and wife Maryam, together with Ambassador of the Republic of India H.E.  J. S. Mukul, his wife  Mita and a friend. By Mr. Roy Lie a Tjam. On Saturday, 12 September, H.E. Dr. Alireza Jahangiri, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and his wife, Maray Jahangiri, graciously opened their mansion and estate grounds, for the second time, to a curious and appreciative public. Since 1959, landgoed (estate) “De Wiltzangk te Wassenaar”, a listed heritage property, has served as the official residence for Iranian Ambassadors and their families. This past weekend, the Ambassador’s family celebrated the Netherlands’ 29th National Open Monumentendag 2015 with the local community. “De Wiltzangk”, the name given to the estate, was inspired by the title of poem by Joost van den Vondel, a famous 17th Century Dutch poet and playwright.

For a photo-album on Iranian Monumentendag 2015, please click here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/121611753@N07/albums/72157658558177190 https://youtu.be/E8ydr_XsxhQ Santur and Daf In honor of the occasion, Ambassador Jahangiri and his wife, arranged to have their home temporarily transformed into an Iranian cultural center for the day. Upon arrival, guests admired a vintage automobile collection parked in front of the residence courtesy of Tehran Trading Mirjavanmanrd at the end of a long tree lined driveway, before being welcomed outdoors with a selection of traditional warm beverages, including Cardamon tea served in open “special event” tents. Artemis Perzisch Restaurant, located on the Fredrikstraat in The Haag, catered the traditional Persian grill buffet, which was served to invited guests and visitors alike. Inside the residence, the public viewed a book collection display of lavishly illustrated Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyám. Persian carpet specialists from TTM Wonen, in Leidschendam, organized a carpet exhibition throughout the stately ground floor rooms of the residence. The reading table featured some twenty English translations of Persian books from the University of Leiden Press “Iranian Studies Series”, as well as other books on tourism, which were available for perusing. An Iranian expatriate, local travel expert, and owner of Vievana, a trusted local travel agency specializing in guided group and individual tour programs to Iran, responded to visitors’ questions about the country. Visitors were interested in opportunities to visit the country’s historic cities of Esfahan, Qom and Kermanshah as well as the country’s many other UNESCO World Heritage cultural sites such as the Meidan Eman in Esfahan.

The conservatory in De Wiltzangk was used as a photography, art and craft gallery. Artisan Maryam Gholamhoseini, an Iranian silver and coppersmith, was among the artisans selected to exhibit work. The exhibition continued outside onto the terrace, where enchanting paintings by the Iranian artist “Fereshteh Salehi”, were displayed together with paintings by a Dutch artist. The Ambassador’s cultural program for his “Monument Day” open house concluded with a musical program performed by a two man musical ensemble playing a selection of traditional Persian music on the Santur and Daf.

The design of De Wiltzangk was commissioned by O.F. Weise. He chose the Rotterdam architect, P. Musly, to design the turn of the century “arts and crafts” English country home for his client, Mr. Samuel van den Bergh, founder of Unilever. It was built on a portion of the Backershagen Estate exactly 100 years ago, in 1915 and contributed to the early development of Wassenaar as a villadorp (estate village). Over the years, the mansion has been extended and the park-like grounds, laid out in the architectural landscape style, designed by the Dutch landscape architect Dirk Frederik Tersteeg, have been enhanced. Mr. Sidney van den Bergh, director of Unilever and former Minister of Defense, commissioned a conservatory to be constructed on the southwest side of the family’s estate, in 1925. Special guests and members of the public appreciated the rare opportunity to admire the traditional fireplace in De Wiltzangk’s “Great Room,” decorated with a unique collection of Delft blue tiles from the 17th and 18th Centuries. Since 1915, many notable people have been associated with De Wiltzangk. In the early 40s, the estate, together with its valuable contents, were confiscated by Nazi troops. The building and grounds were briefly used by General Friedrich Christiansen, the Supreme Commander of the Wehrmacht in the Netherlands.

Shortly after the war’s end and as early as 1946, K.L.M. president Dr. Albert Plesman had “De Wiltzangk” converted for used as an internaat (boarding school), in order to meet K.L.M.’s expanding requirements for commercial aviators. Up to 30 aspiring young pilots, as young as 16, received their basic training in De Wiltzangh, before joining the Dutch Air Force in preparation for a K.L.M. career in commercial aviation. According to officials, over 1,000,000 people attended the 5,000 properties opened for the national “Open Monumentendag 2015,” a number, which far exceeded that of 2014. Mr. Jan Hoekema, the Mayor of Wassenaar, other representatives of the Wassenaar municipality, diplomats, members of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Iranian diaspora and scores of other visitors and guests, were among the many who were grateful for Ambassador Jahangiri’s hospitality in providing everyone with the unique opportunity of visiting “De Wiltzangk”—his stately and historic residence.  

55eme Anniversaire de l’indépendance de la République de Côte d’Ivoire. On August 7, the Republic of Ivory Coast celebrated the declaration of independence from France. This wealthy cacao producing West-African country often referred to as the Paris of West-Africa. The first moves towards independence were made by Félix Houphouët-Boigny. He was a member of the French parliament and member of the French Cabinet. For a photo-album on the Ivory Coast’s National Day please click here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/121611753@N07/albums/72157658618401285

  Mr. Félix Houphouët-Boigny was the first African to be admitted to the august institution of L’Académie française. On August 7, 1960 Ivory Coast declared independence. The prominent Félix Houphouët-Boigny, was elected the first president of Ivory Coast. H.E. Mr. Hamza Sallah Ambassador of Ivory Coast in the Netherlands celebrated the 55th Independence Day on 9 September at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in The Hague. He treated his fellow Ambassadors and other distinguished guest with traditional hospitality, vibrant music, images on Ivory Coast wild life and a hearty Ivorian style buffet.  

 

On the picture HE Maria Teresa Infante Caffi. Photography and video by K. Mirza.   Hosted by ProChile and the Trade Department of the Embassy of Chile. This tasty and innovative event was part of the campaign ‘Foods from Chile’ , it took place last week on September 17  in the Taste of the World test kitchen in the Market Hall, Rotterdam.     The Chilean Chef María Teresa Madrid successfully introduced her ​​creations to a variety of Chilean products.  María Teresa Madrid was born in Chile and was an excellent student of Guillermo Rodríguez, Best Chef of the country. Her original cuisine combined innovation with traditional Chilean gastronomy for yielding surprising results. Ambassador Maria Teresa Infante, was proud to introduce the fantastic work of the chef, and the excellent Chilean product in the Dutch market including the well known Chilean wine

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  By Carlotta Duken. On the 18th of September, the Embassy of Malta invited to celebrate Malta‘s National Day, commemorating the independence which it gained from Great Britain in 1964. This years‘ celebration concurred with the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Malta and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. H.E. Joseph Cole, Ambassador of Malta and his wife Bernadette Cole warmly welcomed all their guests. The guests enjoyed the pleasant atmosphere of the reception and the variety of Maltese specialties served. Among the delicacies were Bigilla dip, a dip made from broad beans, Twistees, a rice based and savory snack, and Biskutelli, traditional Maltese biscuits. For a photo-album on Malta National Day 2015, please click here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/121611753@N07/albums/72157658853810942

    In his welcome speech, the ambassador stressed the positive history of diplomatic relations between Malta and the Netherlands, „guided by trust, goodwill and respect for each other“. In the present and in the future, the Ambassador sees strong potential to strengthen co-operation on a political, economic and cultural level. The bilateral relations have been strengthened through a number of initiatives amongst which one can list: – The military cooperation where the Armed Forces of Malta have participated in EUTM Somalia for a number of years, on Dutch military vessels. Maltese soldiers received medals for their participation and there is no doubt that many of them will be volunteering for similar exercises in the future.

  – The export of potatoes from Malta to The Netherlands. – Tourism between the two countries is doing very well. – Culturally, Valletta and Leeuwarden will have the honor of holding the title of European Capital of Culture in 2018. – Malta and the Netherlands together with Slovakia will form the next trio of the EU Presidency from January 2016 to June 2017. In the near future, Malta will host the EU/Africa Summit which will bring together EU and African leaders to discuss how Europe and Africa can cooperate together to face current challenges and seek further opportunities how to consolidate the relationship between the continents. Among the guests were Mr. Roelof van Ees, Director of Protocol of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, ambassadors of Egypt HE Mr. Taher Farahat, Albania HE Ms. Adia Sakiqi, Belgium HE Mr. Chris  Hoornaert, Estonia HE Mr. Peep Jahilo, HE Archbishop Aldo Cavalli Apostolic Nuncio, the Charge d’Affaires of Indonesia Mr. Ibnu Wahyutomo, Kosovo HE Ms. Vjosa Dobruna, Morocco HE Mr. Abdelouahab Bellouki, Saudi Arabia HE Mr. Abdulaziz Abohaimed, Lithuania HE Mr. Darius Jonas Semaška, Philippines HE Mr. Jaime Victor  Ledda, Ghana HE Mr.  Tony Aidoo, Slovenia HE Mr. Roman Kirn, New Zealand HE Ms. Janet Lowe, Tunisia Karim Ben Becher and the new Ambassador of Australia H.E. Dr Brett Mason.