Photography by Studio 24, Abuja, Nigeria By Sunday Oyinloye, West Africa Editor. Some call it an emerging market, some emerging economy, some a continent of the future, yet some refer to it as a continent flowing with the proverbial milk and and honey because of its geographical location, but Africa in the real sense seems to be a crawling adult. Some scholars have argued that human civilization started in Africa,however, to some youth in Africa, that is more of a folklore than reality. Can you blame the youth for not believing in history? They have every reason to dispute the theory that civilization started in Africa. How could one explain the level of poverty,hunger, disease,deprivation ,mis-governance,illiteracy,insurgency and other anti-progressive vices in a continent said to be the cradle of civilization? In theory, the future of the continent is bright, but if what is on ground and recent developments are anything to go-by, then the thinking that Africa is an emerging market and economy might be a fluke after all. From Nigeria to Central African Republic, from Kenya to Egypt and many parts of the continent, it is one crisis after the other. Even in some countries where there are no crisis, the citizens are in economic bondage under sit-tight leaders, some of whom have been heads of government for than 25 years without making any meaningful impact in the lives of their people. Though, no part of the globe is immuned to crisis and challenges,the wounds in Africa are mostly self-inflicted.Yes books have been written on how Europe underdeveloped Africa, stories of slave trade have been told and acted in films over and over again, these are not enough reasons why Africa should be stagnant. African nations are always quick to point accusing fingers at Europe and America for their misfortunes, it is however clear that some of these countries have not sat down to look inward to see that they are the architects of their misfortunes. Why for instance should people be hungry in Africa when fertile land dot many parts of the continent. It is true that some parts of Africa are prone to extreme weather conditions,but it can be safely argued that Africans have not made the best use of their arable land. Using Nigeria as a case study, there is no reason on earth why the country should not be able to feed the rest of Africa with her good soil,land mass and abundance water resources. It is rather an irony that the number of African countries facing severe food shortages has increased over the years due to insurgencies, extreme weather conditions and lack of adequate attention to Agriculture. While food supply in the globe is on the increase,that of Africa is decreasing. The Food and Agricultural Organisation and the World Food Programme fear that as many as 24 Sub-Saharan Africa countries are struggling with food crisis. Africa accounts for a large number of people displaced by conflicts and violence. Stories coming from Nigeria, Congo, Central African Republic and some nations are not encouraging. Good story has eluded Somalia for years. al-shabaab has practically held that country hostage. In recent times, Kenya has had to contend with attacks from alleged al-shabaab insurgents. Not even South Sudan which recently became a nation is faring better. It has been one crisis after the other. If on paper more than half of Africans are involved in the Agricultural sector, what sense does it make for the continent to be spending an estimated $35 billion yearly importing food ? . This is surely an headache for African Development Bank. Many farmers in Africa cannot tend their farms because of insurgencies. In Nigeria, the bulk of the food comes from the Northern part of the country, but in recent times, food production has decreased sharply because of the activities of Boko Haram. Farmers don’t feel safe in their homes not to talk of farms, little wonder prices of food are now beyond the reach of an average Nigerian. Only the wealthy and a few number of people in the middle class can afford to eat whatever they want. An average home cannot afford three square meal per day. Put differently, most Nigerians are suffering in the midst of plenty, the rich are getting richer, the poor getting poorer . Nigeria spends billions of dollars annually on food importation .From 2005 to 2015 the country has been a net importer of mainly rice, sugar, wheat and fish. The record of the Central Bank of Nigeria shows that Nigeria is the largest importer of United States hard red spring and white winter wheat. Though Nigeria has an arable land for cultivation, this opportunity has not been properly harnessed for food production in such a way to prevent food crisis. Nigeria is reputed to have over 84 million hectares of arable land of which only 40 percent is cultivated. Not even its 230 billion cubic meters of water has been effectively harnessed for agricultural growth that could lead to food security. Where are the Kano groundnut pyramids in the Northern part of Nigeria ,where is the cocoa that was used to finance education in the old Western Region and where are rubber , palm oil, and other farm produce that were popular in the Eastern and Southern parts of the country before the oil boom?. Nigerians are exposed to modern farming methods and technology but how much they have used this to put food on their tables is another question entirely. The country over the years has made fortunes from oil, yet many of her citizens are living in abject poverty Africa needs to wake up from its slumber. What is happening in some parts of the continent is heart breaking. Much of the scare resources are being used to fight insurgencies, treat diseases instead of preventing it, while huge amounts of money are daily stolen and kept in banks outside the continent by some corrupt leaders and their foreign collaborators. A continent that is supposed to be the good bride of other continents because of its history has practically lost its bearing. If not, what is the rationale behind the exodus of youth to Europe with many perishing on the high seas in their bid to seek greener pasture.Yes many are fleeing conflicts in their countries, but a large number are economic migrants. If Europeans had also chosen to destroy their countries economically, where would these economic migrants have run to?. It is time for African leaders to begin to do self examination and make their countries habitable for their citizens to prevent brain drain and exodus of the youth to Europe where they often think their future will be more guaranteed

  By Karsten Klein.  Photography by Arenda Oomen. Alderman Karsten Klein has the Hague literally at his feet: his office at City Hall provides a magnificent view of the hustle and bustle of the city. If it is up to Klein there will be even more economic bustle in the city. To achieve this, an increase in innovative talent is necessary. That is why he has introduced the program Impact Economy, a program where societal and technological innovations with international outreach are united to create a better world.   What exactly entails the program? ‘Let me start with a few examples. Drones who can be used in a case of emergencies Big data, which can be converted into practical visualisations to make humanitarian help more effective Tweets who can be converted into flood maps who can actually save lives in case of flooding. The mentioned examples are all technological innovations with an international impact, made possible by start-ups or entrepreneurs who are all based in the Hague. We call this phenomenon: the impact economy and it is exactly the kind of economy the city wants to stimulate. That is why we have developed this program. The city is a junction of public authorities, of international institutions and companies, creatives, embassies and NGO’s. This has an historic background, of course, but also more and more an economic signification. I call it an international eco-system: on a daily basis thousands of people are working on a better world. The Hague used to focus on attracting large international institutions and companies to settle in the city. Now we are ready for the next step: we can use our reputation as international city of peace and justice to attract companies and start-ups who are working on global challenges. Our international ecosystem is a perfect environment for exactly these kind of entrepreneurs who are focused on making our world a better place. The city wants to stimulate people working on the Impact Economy by investing in people, places experiments and ideas.’ How does the embassy network benefit from the Impact Economy program? ‘In the impact economy embassies and their economic diplomats are valuable partners with whom we would like to collaborate more intensely. Embassies can let us know which challenges they are facing in their country. We are interested in entering such dialogues, as some of our impact start-ups can play an innovative role in solving them. For example: I can imagine that countries who are based in delta’s and are suffering from flooding can benefit from the start up, I mentioned above, that extracts data from twitter and creates maps that give insight to inundation areas. Embassies that are interested are more than welcome to contact us on impacteconomy@denhaag.nl. We also encourage them to have a look at our platform impactcity.nl on which they can also share their events and possibly share their challenges. Also, I can imagine the city organising meet-ups or conferences for certain trade sectors from specific countries. We can than inform economic representatives of the embassy about promising developments for new industries. Not so long ago I went to Milan to discuss the enhancement in the area of food, food production and food safety. The Westland is one of the most knowledge –intensive agriculture areas and is just around the corner. Right here in this city we have multiple companies and start-ups who are working on further rejuvenation of these themes. We can make this knowledge and these developments are potentially applicable to other countries for other countries. There is more. In addition to this I think there are also more informal possibilities for cooperation. We want to create a welcoming environment for diplomatic staff. The Impact Economy program inspires to attract young people. The city offers a lot of international cultural activities, sports events and recreational opportunities. We have high end meeting places and an international events calender. We encourage embassies to join us. ‘    

On the picture H. E. Carlos Herrera with the young musicians from Newton College of Lima and their music director Natasha Encinas. Text and pictures by Ellen Brager. In his function of Ambassador of Peru to The Netherlands, H. E. Carlos Herrera receives many honored guests in his residence in Wassenaar, but seldom are they as young and as talented as his recent visitors from Peru. A group of young string players from Newton College in Lima traveled to The Hague, accompanied by their teachers and parents to work with local musicians and discover “los Paises Bajos”, the Low Countries as The Netherlands are called in Spanish. The musical group was comprised of 13 violinists, between the ages of 6 and 15, and one young cellist. They looked forward for this trip for many months and practiced long and hard to prepare an interesting and varied repertoire. During their week-long stay in The Hague they worked together with the Hofstads Jeugdorkest (VHJO), the American School of The Hague (ASH) and the International School of The Hague (ISH) with whom they held several joint concerts. Having heard about their visit, Mr. Herrera and his spouse Veronique Miclea, did not pass up the opportunity to invite them into their home to get to know them personally and listen to their playing. Divided in small groups, the kids performed three traditional songs from Peru, filling the Peruvian expats that had been invited to the reception with nostalgia for their country. After the children’s performance, it was the turn of the teachers to delight the guests with their talent. Back home the teachers form a trio of violin, guitar/vocals and percussion, called Las Warmis, which means The Women in the Quechua language that is spoken in the Andes. Their repertoire draws on the rich sounds of the Peruvian folklore and constitutes a paean to the beauty of their country. In addition to the delegation from Newton College, the Ambassador invited several local musicians and other contributors to the success of the school’s trip, as well as his personal guests and representatives of Diplomat Magazine. Upon arrival the invitees were treated to a glass of Pisco Sour, the traditional drink of Peru, and a variety of bocaditos, little hors d’oeuvres with Peruvian flavors. After the musical interlude was over, the guests mingled, while Mr. Herrera spoke with his young musical guests and posed with them for some pictures. It was a delightful evening that left the kids feeling honored, the parents and teachers proud, and the guests grateful to have been part of it. But the Ambassador’s involvement with the Peruvian visit did not stop there. The next day he honored the musicians again by officially opening the last concert of their tour held in the beautiful theater of ASH. After a few welcome words during which he praised the collaboration between the Peruvian musicians and their Dutch counterparts, the children preformed a special program that combined classical music with traditional Peruvian tunes. The Peruvian musicians opened the concert, not on their string instruments, but on the cajón, an indigenous Peruvian percussion instrument. It is a wooden box that is played with both hands while the musician sits on it. Lined up in a long row the kids played various rhythms in question and answer format. After this unique opening, the preparatory orchestra and the advanced string ensemble of the VHJO, as well as the string orchestra of ASH, joined the Peruvian musicians in different formations. In total, close to one hundred musicians who had never performed together before, combined their talents to take the audience on a journey from the Europe of Strauss and Mendelssohn to the high peaks of the Andes. A special highlight was Bach’s double violin concerto, where the solo positions were shared by doubling up musicians from Peru and The Netherlands.

The concert ended with the Peruvian classic “El Condor Pasa”, first in an instrumental version played by the entire orchestra, then, for the encore, the audience was invited to sing along with the instruments. They found the words in Spanish in the concert program and followed two lead vocals on stage.

This final piece, by involving all present – the musicians from Peru, their Dutch counterparts from the VHJO and the many other nationalities represented in the orchestra of ASH as well as in the audience – testified to how music has the power to unite people and share the satisfaction of creating harmony together.    

A fruit market full of flavours and colors, a café terrasse with young graceful women meeting on a Friday night, a street of barbershops where the latest music hits are played. These are not the typical pictures you would first associate with Rwanda. Yet, 21 years after the Genocide, Rwanda is in many ways a new country full of life, energy and hope for the future. In every city, in every village, in every corner of this land, something is happening, a new story is being written. It is the story of Rwanda seen through the eyes of the millions of young people who for a large extent have not experienced the atrocities of the genocide. More than two thirds of Rwandans are under the age 20. Their notion of identity, beliefs and culture is in many ways different from what one would expect from a post-conflict country. While latest mobile technologies have no secret for them, their views of marriage are very anchored in the cultural roots of Rwanda. They don’t define themselves as conservative or modern, Christian or Muslim, Tutsi or Hutu. What many see as contradictions are for them components of a new identity, proper to them and their époque. Attempts to portray the new Rwanda in literature have been made by different authors of the older generation of Rwandans. But their upbringing in the four decades of dark history that preceded the 1994 Genocide do not always allow them to fully see their country’s transformation from a new perspective. Their fears and anxieties are unconsciously reflected in their writings. Similarly, foreign writers are unable to fully grasp the desire of Rwandans to challenge binary approaches to identity. A proper understanding of Rwandan modern times imposes nonetheless a journey to the ancient pre-colonial times. For centuries, Rwandans relied on their culture of storytelling to transfer knowledge and information from generation to generation. In a predominantly young society, growing fast both economically and culturally, making sure the Rwandan heritage is well and properly documented is a challenge to the new generation. “Manners In Rwanda” book takes you to the green landscapes of Rwanda, through the eyes of its young people, at the crossroads between modern and traditional influences. “Manners in Rwanda” book offers travel tips, cultural insights, vocabularies and language notes. It is a blend of classical and contemporary Rwanda. The book gives a comprehensive insight of a Rwandan way of life—giving a narrative of the ancient Rwanda, Rwandan housing, settlement, beliefs, clothing, sports, entertainment, wedding and intimacy, cuisine and so on. Marriage is a very fundamental aspect in Rwandan culture. The book breaks down all the marriage rituals of the bride and bridegroom. The book explains Rwandan courtship, engagement, marriage, bridal shower, sex in marriage and many more interesting things. Sex and intimacy are key elements of a marriage. Young girls most of the time are being taught this matter by their female older relatives, not openely but by teaching them how to do the labia elongation (gukuna imishino), one of the sexual traditions (details cfr the book) to be done by most of the Rwandan females before they get married. Readers will have a basic knowledge on Rwandan culture, customs and Kinyarwanda language. This book has been featured into the Netherlands Drongo Language Festival, and Frankfurt International book Fair, which said to be the biggest fair in the world. The book also highlights the Rwandan cultural values, detailing the Do’s and Don’ts and family ties and relations. Rwanda (like so many African cultures) does not have a long history of written literature, but there is a strong oral tradition ranging from poetry to folk stories. Many of the country’s moral values and details of history have been passed down through generations. “Manners in Rwanda” book has been published in May 2015 by InkwaterPress, an American publishing house based in Portland, United States. The book is best for: Travelers or tourists to Rwanda Professional readers who are into geography, places, cultures and history Linguists who love learning your language Decision-makers in the publishing industry who are on the lookout of unique genre and style Academicians, librarians, students and bookstore owners Rwandan and African book enthusiasts Book investors of Rwanda and Africa’s pride Friends of Rwanda “Manners in Rwanda” book can be found on Amazon.com, inkwaterpress.com, Barnes&Nobles, Powells, ebay, bol.com, etc… It can also be ordered via any bookstore by giving its ISBN which is: 9781629012544 In Rwanda, it’s in Ikirezi Library, Caritas, Excel Bookshop at MTN Center, School books distributors located at Gishushu and in the Duty free of Kigali International airport. You can follow the author on: Twitter: Joy Nzamwita Facebook: Joy Uwanziga    

On the picture Ambassador Claude-France Arnould. By Baron Henri Estramant. France to Belgium: HE Ambassador Claude-France Arnould, Director of the European Defence Agency from 2011 to January 2015. Thereafter until October 2015 Special Envoy for Space at the European External Action Service. http://www.ambafrance-be.org/Biographie-de-S-E-Mme-Claude-France-Arnould. Pictures by French Embassy to Belgium 

Netherlands to Belgium: HE Ambassador Maryem van den Heuvel was accredited by HM King Filip of the Belgians on 28 October 2015. She worked previously at the Foreign Ministry in Den Haag as Director for the Department for the Western Hemisphere.  She is the first Royal Dutch ambassador with Tunisian background. Ambassador van den Heuvel is fluent in Dutch, French, Arabic, English and Spanish. http://belgie.nlambassade.org/organization/de-ambassadeur/cv-ambassadeur.html

Andorra to the Benelux countries, Germany and the EU: HE Ambassador Maria Ubach Font, previously head of mission to the French Republic, Portugal and UNESCO. She presented her credentials in Belgium on 15 September 2015, and is due to do the same in The Netherlands on 11 November and 11 December in Germany. 

Austria to Belgium and NATO: HE Ambassador Jürgen Meindl, previously ambassador of Austria to Switzerland. http://www.bmeia.gv.at/botschaft/bruessel/die-botschaft/der-botschafter.html

Switzerland to Belgium: HE Ambassador Christian Meuwly, previously head of mission to South Africa, co-accredited to Zambia and Mauritius. Presented credentials to the King of the Belgians on 28 October 2015.  https://www.eda.admin.ch/countries/belgium/fr/home/representations/ambassade/personnel.html

Norway to Belgium and EU: Ambassador Ingrid Schulerud, previously diplomat in Budapest, Hungary.  She is likewise Deputy Head of Mission at the Norwegian Representation to the EU. http://www.norvege.be/Embassy/Ambassade-/CV-de-lAmbassadeur/#.VjRyiNLRZkg

India to The Netherlands and the OPCW:  HE Ambassador Jagdish Saksena Mukul presented credentials to King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands on 2 September 2015. Previously he was head of mission to the Sultanate of Oman.  http://www.indianembassy.nl/eoi.php?id=Ambassador

Seychelles to the three Benelux countries, the EU and OPCW: HE Ambassador Thomas Selby Pillay, was accredited to Belgium on 10 January 2015, to the EU on 29 October 2015 and to The Netherlands on 10 June 2015. From 2011 to 2014 he was Principal Counsellor at the Seychelles Permanent Mission to the United Nations, New York.

  (South) Korea to The Netherlands and the OPCW: HE Ambassador Choe Jonghyun, formerly ambassador to Oman. Presented credentials to HM King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands on 26 November 2014.  

Portugal to Belgium: HE Ambassador Dr. António Vasco da Cunha e Lorena Alves Machado accredited since 20 May 2015.  

`The vanishing prospects for a two state solution´ – Views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict   By Johanna Ospina Garnica, UPEACE Centre The Hague. Review of the lecture presented by Robert H. Serry, a former Dutch career diplomat who served to NATO and the UN, on September 9, 2015. (For more information on UPEACE Centre The Hague and the lecture series “Peace Building in Progress” see: www.upeace.nl). In his lecture on `The vanishing prospects for a two state solution´, Mr. Serry shared his experience after having served seven years as the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process in Jerusalem. He shared his views on the so-called `Two State Solution´ (TSS), the current situation between Israel and Palestine and the persistent direction towards a `One State reality´. Mr. Serry started his lecture by explaining that, during his years serving in Jerusalem, the American government led three failed peace initiatives that did not meet the urgent and essential need to establish a Palestinian state as foreseen in the TSS. These peace initiatives were followed by several events: The wars in the Gaza Strip that left the territory in devastating conditions, the pursuit of statehood at UN level by the Palestinian government, and joining the International Criminal Court in April 2015 – a move that was not well accepted by Israel. According to Mr. Serry, the interconnection of these three aspects (peace negotiations, war in the Gaza Strip and pursuing state recognition at the UN level) has produced one of the deepest crises that stand in the way of the TSS in the last 25 years. These circumstances have led both parties to share an uncomfortable condition that he described as `living unhappily like Siamese twins in one state´. Before explaining his proposal about how to prevent the worsening of this situation, he presented three drivers that in his opinion move parties away from peace and accordingly are an obstacle to achieve a TSS in the near future: Settlements, Palestinian disunity, and regional upheaval combined with international impotence.

Settlements: Building settlements across the `Green Line´ is illegal under international law, as noted in the Fourth Geneva Convention, article 49, that forbids individual or mass forcible transfers by the occupying Power and therefore is not compatible with the TSS. Currently, there are more than 500,000 settlers living in the `Area C´ which is 70% of the West Bank and remains under Israeli security control. Mr. Serry pointed out that, to keep any real chance to achieve a TSS, Israel must stop or at least restrain the settlement growing and take effective measures on settler violence. Palestinian disunity: Another obstacle to achieve the TSS is the deep political division between the Palestinian political forces, Fatah in the West Bank and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. This internal division has a big impact in the attempt to accomplish a peace agreement that leads to the end of the conflict. On the one hand, Hamas refuses to recognize Israel as a legitimate state and has an important responsibility in the terrorist attacks that undermined the Oslo Accords and have escalated the conflict in the last years. On the other hand, the recent peace efforts have focused on dialogues between Israel and Ramallah, setting aside Hamas´ position. Despite the formation of the Government of National Consensus (GNC) last year it is still not possible to know how Palestinian leaders will work together to meet the needs and interests of their people. Regional upheaval combined with uncertainty / international impotence: In previous decades one the main affairs of the Middle East diplomacy was the Arab-Israeli conflict, but nowadays the scenario has changed dramatically. The impacts caused by the so-called `Arab Spring´ turned the hope for social change into an `Islamic Summer´ characterised by high levels of violence and instability in several countries in the region. In these circumstances the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its peace process could seem like a low relevant issue. However, the conflict remains an aggravating factor for the stability of the region, as it remains unsolved and outbreaks as happened last year in Gaza continue to pour oil on the regional fire. Mr. Serry explained that in order to make real progress to achieve a peace agreement among the parties and thus contribute to the regional stability it is necessary to reconsider the TSS paradigm, which has not worked so far. He shared two observations on the importance to look for alternatives to the TSS, taking into account that the one-state Solution is not desirable for both parties and the emerging one-state reality increases the potential for tensions and the intensification of the conflict. First, it is needed to deal with the Gaza Strip as an existential priority. The last wars have generated dramatic conditions in the territory and have made reconstruction almost impossible. Given the urgent need to take action, it is important to propose solutions that progressively lead to full reconstruction of Gaza and end its isolation. These solutions include rebuilding Shehaiya, developing projects on water and energy supply or connecting Gaza with the West Bank through either a road or a railway. A Palestine Reconstruction Authority under international auspices could be indispensable to achieve this goal. Second, the current concept of TSS needs renewed scrutiny if future negotiations are going to have any chance to succeed. In the last years some Israeli political leaders and experts have expressed the idea that the TSS paradigm is almost dead and have introduced the idea of `co-habitation´ and a `con-federation´ between Israel and Palestine instead. This `con-federation´ would allow Israeli settlers to live in the West Bank in the same proportional number of Palestinians that would be allowed to live inside the Israeli borders. In this scenario Jerusalem would be divided as capital for both parties and an international force could guarantee security in Palestine. The idea of a more hybrid TSS deserves further consideration and might open the road to an arrangement in which connecting becomes more important to both sides than dividing.    

On the picture HE Ambassador Rüdiger Lüdeking.   By Baron Henri Estramant. Germany to Belgium: HE Ambassador Rüdiger Lüdeking formerly head of mission of Germany to the OSCE. He was accredited to Belgium on 15 September 2015 after presenting his credentials to HM King Philipp of the Belgians from the German dynasty of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (House of Belgium).   http://www.bruessel.diplo.de/Vertretung/bruessel/de/04_20Die_20Botschaft/Botschafter__und__ Abteilungen/Behoerdenleiter__und__Referate.html    

Bahrain to the EU, Belgium and Luxembourg: HE Ambassador Dr. Bahiya bint Jawad Al Jishi formerly a member of the Shura Council (parliament). Yet to be accredited.  http://www.shura.bh/en/Council/MPs/2006MP41/Pages/default.aspx  

Laos to the three Benelux countries, the EU and the OPCW : HE Ambassador Bouteum Khamkheuang formely ambassador to Austria, the UN Office as well as the International organisations based in Vienna, co-accredited as non-resident ambassador to Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia. Presented credentials to HM The King of the Belgians on 8 September 2015, to EC President Donald Tusk on 29 October 2015. He is yet to be accredited to The Netherlands, Luxembourg and  the OPCW.   

Israel to Belgium and Luxembourg: HE Ambassador Simona Frankel. Formerly director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel for bilateral meetings between governments.  http://embassies.gov.il/Bruxelles/AboutTheEmbassy/Pages/The-ambassador.aspx  

 Tanzania to The Netherlands and the OPCW: HE Ambassador Irene Florence Mkwawa Kasyanju. Previously head of the legal department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  Accredited on 7 October 2015 to The Netherlands.   

Venezuela to the EU, Belgium and Luxembourg: HE Ambassador Claudia Salerno Caldera, she is in addition “Presidential Special Envoy for Climate Change”. Presented her credentials to EC President Tusk on 29 October 2015.   

Russia to The Netherlands: HE Ambassador Alexander Vasilievich Shulgin, previously Director of First European Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia. http://www.rusembassy.nl/en/ambassador.php  

Cambodia to the three Benelux countries, the EU, the OPCW and Austria: HE Ambassador Chea Thireak, previously director of La Francophonie department at the Foreign Ministry.   

Sudan to The Netherlands: HE Ambassador Rahma Salih Elobied Salih, previously ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein, Head of Mission to the UN. Accredited since 7 October 2015.   

Monaco to the three Benelux countries and the EU: HE Ambassador Sophie Thevenoux, previously ambassador to the French Republic and Andorra. Accredited to Belgium on 20 May 2015. Yet to be accredited to The Netherlands and Luxembourg. 

Canada to the EU: HE Ambassador Dan Costello, previously Assistant Deputy Minister – Europe, Middle East, Maghreb, Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development. Accredited by EC President Tusk on 29 October 2015.   

Malawi to the three Benelux countries, France, Switzerland, Italy, the EU, the OPCW: HE Ambassador Aubrey Kalebe.  www.embassymalawi.be Iraq to the EU, Belgium and Luxembourg: HE Ambassador Jawad bin Kadhim AL Chlaihawi. Accredited to Belgium on 8 September 2015. Formerly director general of the department for Asia and Australia at the Foreign Ministry. 

Bosnia and Herzegovina to the EU: HE Ambassador Lidija Topić, previously Head of Office of the Regional Cooperation Council, Liaison Office in Brussels.                     

By Mr. Zahid Ali Abbasi, Commercial Counsellor, Embassy of Pakistan in The Hague. With a population of around 200 million people, Pakistan is strategically located in South Asia in a very important economic neighbourhood, with energy rich Central Asian states on its Western border, huge economic markets like China and India in the North and East as well as an important coastal line to the South. Owing to its prime location, China has recently committed 45 billion dollars of investments in Pakistan, mainly in the economic corridor which will be built from the Gawadar Port of Pakistan to China through the Silk route, a future economic game changer in the region. Pakistan is one of the top ten producers in the world in commodities like cotton, wheat, rice, mangoes, oranges, and milk.  The Netherlands is a very important trading partner for Pakistan, being the fifth largest importer of Pakistani commodities in the EU and tenth largest importer overall for Pakistan. The bilateral trade between the two countries is around 1 billion dollars.  The Netherlands supported Pakistan in award of the GSP plus facility (duty free access status) in 2014 by the EU parliament. Consequently, trade between the two countries increased by 15% in 2014 alone. The major exports from Pakistan are textile, garments, leather and sports goods, footwear, rice; whereas the major imports from the Netherlands are machinery, electrical and electronics equipment, pharmaceutical products, iron, steel, nickel, rubber, and plastics. In the Development Cooperation, the focus of the Netherlands is now on trade. Therefore, Dutch Development Cooperation’s Institutions like CBI (Centre for promotion of exports from developing countries) and PUM (Netherlands Senior Experts Program) are playing an active role in enhancing Pakistani institutions in trade and investments. The Netherlands is also among the top ten investors countries in Pakistan. The country has been home for major Dutch multinational companies like Shell, Unilever, Philips, Akzo Nobel, Macro, and Damn shipyards. Since 2013, the trade wing of the Embassy of Pakistan led by Commercial Attaché Mr. Zahid Abbasi under the guidance of Ambassador of Pakistan, H.E Moazzam Ahmed Khan, has carried out various promotional trade events. For example: a mango exhibition, football and rice promotion in private label exhibitions, participation in Amsterdam fashion week, NBI Investment Expo, sports goods exhibition during the Hockey World Cup, participation in the Hague Embassy Festival, and the organisation of seminars on GSP Plus, the textile sector and investment opportunities in Pakistan. Essentially, we are thankful to Diplomat Magazine for giving us this opportunity to send a message not only to the diplomatic community but also to other important stake holders.