By Roy Lie A Tjam.   The residence of Ms. Abir Ali, Chargé d’Affaires at the Embassy of Lebanon was the venue of a Lebanese wine tasting event on Friday 20 March 2015. Ms. Abir Ali held a speech in which she remarked, many were surprised upon receiving the invitations ‘unaware of the fact that wine is allowed in Lebanon and that Lebanon is a wine producing country.   For full photo-album of this event, please click here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/121611753@N07/sets/72157651554437485/   This made the event a proof Lebanese diversity’. Ms. Ali continued, ‘this diversity is based on a mosaic of different religious communities living together, sharing the values of tolerance, acceptance and respect for one another’. Furthermore, she said that ‘the Lebanese diversity should be a role model to all, and we should all endeavor to preserve it.’   Herself a tea totaler, Ms. Ali subsequently gave the floor to Mr. Fawzi Issa of ‘Domaine des Tourelles’ Lebanese winery, to explain the special characteristics of the Lebanese wine. Mr. Issa noted that given the Mediterranean (Lebanon) four seasons and the diverse geography with grapes growing at an altitude of 1000 meters , provides the Lebanese wine its rich and warm Mediterranean taste’. He also said, ‘for a rather small country, Lebanon produces at least 1 million bottles of wine every year’.   The Dutch public can enjoy the Lebanese wine through the web shop: www.libanesewijnen.nl  

The Embassy of Latvia in the Netherlands opens an art exhibition in the French Institute, in Amsterdam – “Art Nouveau Architecture: Riga” on 19March.   The exhibition was opened by the Ambassador of Latvia to the Netherlands H. E.  Māris Klišāns, then Director of the French Institute, Mr. Laurent Alberti, and the curator of the exhibition and scientist of art Ms. Ramona Umblija. There are approximately 800 Art Noveau buildings in Riga, and in this exhibition it is possible to see photographs of the eight most striking buildings and their architecture elements on Alberta, Strēlnieku, Smilšu, Elizabetes and Tērbatas streets. Curator, Ramona Umblija, in her speech introduced to the principle of the exhibition “Art Nouveau Architecture: Riga”. The main concept is Richard Wagner’s (lived and worked in Riga from August 1837 to July, 1939) gesamtkunstwerk or term of total artwork, visualising the greatest Art Nouveau buildings/ facades alike performances in opera.   Firstly the facades of buildings at night are portrayed in a lighting, just like audience watches opera performance in a dim-lit hall, hence preserving and enhancing the aura of myth and mystery (the powerful influence of symbolism that still exists at the beginning of 20th century). Secondly accentuating the fact that electrical lighting first arrived in Riga together with the Art Nouveau buildings, which allows as “to look behind the doors and windows” or using the association with opera – look behind the stage. Umblija emphasized the uniqueness of the Art Nouveau, how well the buildings are maintained, and invited the audience to visit Riga and to experience the great cultural and architectural values of Latvian capital themselves. Amsterdam’s French Institute is the French culture centre in the Netherlands, which has been opened for more than 70 years. The main aim of the Institute is to promote French culture, art and teach French language. The exhibition “Art Nouveau in Riga” will be open to the public until 21 April.  

By Roy Lie A Tjam.   Officiated by the Embassy of the Republic of Rwanda in the Netherlands, International Women’s day 2015 was celebrate at the Carlton Ambassador Hotel in The Hague on Saturday march 20 2015. There has been remarkable progress in Rwanda since Beijing in 1995, including in areas such as Women in Power and Decision Making, Women and the Economy, Education and Training for Women, all programs part of Rwandan government national policy.   For a full photo-album of the event, please click here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/121611753@N07/sets/72157651129649230/ Rwanda has ensured gender equity in all governance policies, including budget allocation as well as ensuring gender sensitive provisions in national constitution. Rwanda has the highest representation of women in the Parliament – 64 per cent, compared to the average of 21 per cent for the rest of the world, Women occupy 40 per cent of Cabinet posts in Rwanda.   A breakdown of the program: Performance by Fumiko Marie from the Royal Conservatorium, music. Speech by the President of Rwandan Women Association (Ishema), Ms. Christella Mukashema. Performance by Ms. Joss Umuganwa  and Gareth Evans -Jones. Speech by Dr Barbara Couwenbergh, President of the International Women Contact. Dance by the Rwandan Women Association (Ishema). Speech by Ambassador of Nigeria and Dean of African Ambassadors H. E. Dr. Nimota Nihinlola Akanbi.   Performance by Ryuko Reid from the Royal Conservatorium, music. Remarks by Ambassador Jean Pierre Karabaranga. In her address H.E. Dr. Akambi, quoted a Chinese adage; ‘women can hold up half the sky’. Yes, women are the backbone of society. Women deserve our respect, we should cherish them. The evening concluded with an informal networking.  

By Roy Lie A Tjam.   At the conclusion of the 3^rd session of the 12^th National People’s Congress on March 15 2015, Premier Li Keqiang of China gave a press conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Premier Li Keqing started by applauding the approximately 900 foreign- and Chinese journalists. “Friends from the press, ladies and gentlemen, you have made tremendous efforts to cover the NPC and CPPCC sessions. The two sessions have come to a close, but your work has not. Today is Sunday yet you cannot take the day off. I want to use this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation to you all. Now I would be happy to answer your questions” Here are two extracts from the press conference.   Financial Times: Last year, China’s real estate market was on the decline. This prompted a large number of Chinese nationals to start buying homes overseas. Chinese customers have become the largest group of homebuyers in New York, Sydney and London and this has significantly driven up local home prices. Hence some people have called into question the legitimacy of the money spent on buying these homes overseas. Are you concerned about the possible backlash to such massive home buying by Chinese overseas? And will the Chinese government introduce new policy measures to boost the domestic real estate market this year?   Premier Li Keqing: China is advancing the renminbi’s full convertibility under the capital account. This shows that China is taking further steps to open up the capital market. You talked about the phenomenon of large numbers of Chinese buying homes overseas and said that they have become the largest home buyers in a number of key international metropolises. I suppose that more evaluations need to be done here as to whether that is true. As far as I’m concerned, I am not in possession of solid information about this. But what I know is that China is still the largest destination of the inflow of foreign direct investment, which now stands at $120 billion. At the same time, the Chinese government will also encourage Chinese companies and Chinese nationals to go overseas to invest and do business. In doing so, these Chinese companies and Chinese nationals need to abide by China’s relevant laws and regulations and also observe the local laws. You have a Westerner’s face but you speak Chinese so well. I wonder if you have bought a home in China – you are welcome to do so. China is still a large developing country. Housing is not just an economic issue but also one that concerns people’s livelihood. The Chinese government needs to meet the basic housing needs of low-income people around the country. And the government will take more steps this year to rebuild rundown urban areas and dilapidated homes in urban and rural areas. The plan for such efforts this year is to increase building and rebuilding rundown areas and dilapidated homes – by 1 million units respectively. The Chinese government is responsible for providing everyday necessities in terms of housing for our people. The real estate market is governed by its own laws. China is such a large country with vast land. In this country, there are mega cities and medium and small-size cities as well as small townships. And the conditions of these different cities and townships vary significantly from one to another. Hence the central government has requested the local governments to exercise their responsibilities concerning regulating local real estate markets. And differentiated policies need to be adopted in the light of local conditions. At the same time, urbanization continues to pick up speed in China which means that housing demand in China is here to stay. We also encourage Chinese people to buy homes for their personal use or as their second home. We hope to see a steady and sound growth of China’s real estate markets in the long term.   Korean Broadcasting System: China’s CPI rise was at just about 1.5 percent in the past few months – and in January the figure was near 0.8 percent. So are we to conclude that China entered deflation? Some people also argue that China is exporting deflation to other parts of the world and that it has also affected the Republic of Korea, what is your response?   Premier Li Keqing: About deflation, there are multiple criteria in evaluating deflation in the world. A major criterion is the consecutive negative growth of overall consumer prices in the country. Regarding CPI, last January we had positive growth. And the figure of February further increased. So I don’t think we are facing deflation in China. Recently, consumer prices in China have been quite low, but China is not exporting deflation to other parts of the world. The truth is, China is at the receiving end of deflation. Let me give you an example: Last year, China imported 310 million metric tons of crude oil and about 930 million tons of iron ore from the international market. The physical volume increased but the price declined because of the tumble in international commodity prices – and we are prepared to cope with such a situation. At the same time, we hope to see a quicker global economic recovery – and the global economy will regain momentum for robust growth.   Messages highlighted by the premier: Cut red tape to help businesses and ease downward pressure on the economy. E-commerce can help create jobs. Self-discipline among civil servants and “rule by law” can help reduce corruption. China has many tools in its box to create steady economic growth during the downturn, but he did not elaborate. Encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship can help invigorate the economy. A visit by President Xi Jinping to the United States later this year can help improve Sino-US relations. The 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War will be a chance for a turnaround in Sino-Japanese ties. China is still a developing nation and should not be considered a developed country.  

  By Mete Erdurcan.   On the occasion of Navruz ‘The Holiday of Spring, renewal and peace’ the Uzbek Embassy organized a reception on 18^th March at the Arsenaal Building of Leiden University. Navruz is a holiday celebrated in Central Asian countries around 21^st March each year, including Uzbekistan. Navruz has a history over 2500 years. in 2009 it was officially recognised by the UN as an  ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’.   For a full photo-album of the event, please click here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/121611753@N07/sets/72157651104492879/   Navruz is celebrated throughout Uzbekistan, and especially in Tashkent, where grand celebrations are held at the Alisher Navoi National Park. The common belief is that Navruz sets the precedent for the upcoming year. Activities include festivities with songs, dances and performances, in addition to the sports competitions.   During the reception in Leiden, His Excellency Vladimir Norov gave a speech in which he explained the socio-economic prosperity of Uzbekistan since its independence. The Ambassador also took a moment to express his gratitude to Leiden University and in particular to Dr. Gabrielle van den Berg and Dr. Elena Paskaleva for ‘their assistance in organizing this event and their significant efforts to develop mutually beneficial cooperation in education between Leiden University and Uzbekistan’.