First introduction of H.E. Ms Orsolya Szijjártó, the new Ambassador of Hungary in the Netherlands The Netherlands-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce together with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Budapest organized a ‘M& G’ event for their members with two special guests: H.E. Ms Orsolya Szijjártó, the new Ambassador of Hungary in the Netherlands and Mr Elzo Molenberg the new Deputy Head of Mission and Head of Economics Section of the Netherlands Embassy. The event was hosted by H.E. Gajus Scheltema, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands at his spectacular Residency. This was the first public appearance of Ms Szijjártó as Ambassador of Hungary. During her introductory speech she gave insight into the new diplomacy strategy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. She emphasized that building business with a pragmatic approach has become first priority of Hungarian diplomacy. Another important pillar of diplomacy is cultural diplomacy, represented by a new state secretariat within the ministry. In the field of business-trade diplomacy, the new Ambassador will have the task to care about Dutch investors in Hungary and enhance exports of Hungarian businesses, especially SME-s. Besides these traditional business tasks, there is a new goal too:  to help Hungarian entities to get in touch with Dutch RD institutions, and companies, in order to apply together for EU subsidies in Brussels. She believes working together on common projects will lead to important exchanges of know-how and long term cooperation of Dutch and Hungarian. She offered her help in building strategic partnerships between Dutch enterprises and the Hungarian Government, hoping, that the good example of Heineken (who has signed a letter of intent on a strategic partnership with the Hungarian government) will also be followed by other Dutch enterprises. Ms Szijjártó is an economist by profession; she started her career in the public sector, working at the Foreign Office of the National Assembly, later at the Deputy State Secretary for Tourism. Since 2001 she has been working in the consultancy sector: first as the director of international relations, then as the managing director of a consulting company. She also worked as the project director of the Valencian Regional Government’s Brussels Office initiating a high number of European projects for the region. She has been an external evaluator of European projects both in Hungary and in Brussels. She is fluent in German, English and Spanish. Concerning Mr Elzo Molenberg, it was a re-introduction of him to the Dutch business community, since Mr Molenberg used to head the economic section of the Embassy between July 2007 – July 2011. Mr Molenberg invited the representatives of Dutch business to exchange view concerning the way the Embassy can assist and support the Dutch business community in their existence on the Hungarian market. Mr Molenberg mentioned economic activities under way, like the Logistics Seminar on 16 October, which will be organised by DUTCHAM and MLE, sponsored by the Embassy, and like the Hungarian-Dutch Waterforum, which will take place on 17-18 November, being jointly organised by the Hungarian Water Board OVF and the Embassy. Last but not least, Mr. Molenberg told the audience that the Embassy is currently planning its activities for 2015-2016, with already a focus on the Dutch EU-presidency of the EU in the first half of 2016, which should offer an excellent opportunity to the Embassy and the Dutch business community to put Dutch business and culture in the Hungarian spotlights again, like nowadays during the „DACS” Dutch Cultural festival in Hungary (www.dacs.hu) The economic relationships between the Netherlands and Hungary have played a central role in the career of Mr Elzo Molenberg. As an employee of the European Commission, he was project manager of various EU Phare economic aid projects in Hungary (1990-1995) including projects to support medium-sized and small Hungarian companies (sme) and to support the set up and strategy of the Hungarian Investment & Trade Development Agency. As manager of the Rivierenland Chamber of Commerce (Tiel), he set up the Hungarian desk in 1996 to assist Dutch SME’s to enter the Hungarian market. He has been in service at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 2001 and between July 2007 and August 2011 he held the position of head of the Economic Affairs Department at the Dutch Embassy in Budapest. (Source: HBN) Both diplomats offered their assistance to the business community when it comes to negotiating with trade partners, building cooperation in the field of EU projects or any other business relation.

In his residence, only a few steps away from the Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain, HE Ambassador Fernando Arias hosted a fiesta on Friday, 10 October 2014, to commemorate Spain’s National Day which de facto was nationally celebrated in Spain on 12 October 2014. It was the very first National Day presided over by the new royal couple, HM King Felipe VI and HM Queen Letizia. Likewise the first attended by  HRH The Princess of Asturias, The Infante Leonor and her younger sister The Infanta Sofía.  In Madrid the National Day was marked by a military parade in the presence of the royal couple, members of the Royal House, the Government, high ranking judges as well as the presidents of the autonomous communities and the diplomatic corps. In The Hague the fiesta was attended not only by ambassadors but also by prominent members of the Spanish business community based in The Netherlands. His Highness Duke Michael of Mecklenburg, a relation to HM Queen Sofía of Spain, through her Prussian ancestors, was also in attendance as was Baron Henri Estramant representing the Habsburg Dynasty. Tortilla española, paella and jerez (sherry wine) were served to the invitees. La Fiesta Nacional de España was instituted as national holiday on 15 June 1918 during the reign of King Alfonso XIII. Back then it was named “Fiesta de la Raza”. Between 1958 y 1987 it was called “Fiesta de la Hispanidad”. 

By Baron Henri Estramant. The State of Qatar’s Permanent Representative to the OPCW, H. E. Ambassador Khalid bin Fahad Al Khater, hosted a small gathering of colleagues to mark the opening of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons’ 76th Executive Council’s session. The latter was held from 8 – 11 July 2014. The reception hosted by the Qatari Permanent Representative took place at the Worldhotel Bel Air. Qatar has been an OPCW Member State since 1997. Permanent Representative Khalid bin Fahad Al Khater presented his credentials to the OPCW’s Director-General on 11 February 2014.

                          By Baron Henri Estramant. The Embassy of the Republic of Botswana to the Benelux countries, the EU and the OPCW, celebrated the 48th anniversary of its independence with pomp and elegance at the Concert Noble in Brussels on 30 September 2014. H.E. Ambassador Samuel Otsile Outlule selected one of the EU capitals’ most elegant venues for the celebration, the Concert Noble. What is today a banquet and concert hall was in fact established at the end of the XVIII century as a place of reunion for the aristocracy of the then “Habsburg” or “Austrian Netherlands” (today Belgium and Luxembourg). The patrons at the time were the joint regents, Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria, I Duchess of Teschen (1742-98) and her spouse, Prince Albert of Saxony-Teschen (1738-1822). Maria Christina was a sister of Holy Roman emperors Joseph II, Leopold II and an older sister to the disgraced Queen Marie Antoinette of France. The reception in Brussels was well-attended by the members of the ACP (African, Caribbean, Pacific countries) diplomatic corps as well as by some prominent Botswana business people based in the Benelux countries. The event featured time for networking, mingling, and a rather elegant and palatable three courses sit-down diner. The guests also enjoyed the music of the Brussels Philharmonic during the diner. 30 September 1966 is the date wherein Botswana officially became independent from the UK after being carved out from the Union of South Africa. An administration for the country was set up in Gaborone, the country’s capital, already in 1955. Botswana’s first president became Sir Seretse Khama served from 1966 to 1980. Under President Khama the country began to modernise swiftly. Today Botswana is proud to be known as the “least corrupted country in Africa” by Transparency International. It stands out for its tradition of democracy and political stability. Back in June 2014,  Botswana’s Okavango Delta, a vast untouched catchment, was voted in as the planet’s 1,000th UNESCO World Heritage Site. The area is known as the “Jewel of the Kalahari”, and home to staggering flora and fauna. A further reason for all Botswana to rejoice this year. The Republic of Botswana is represented in Amsterdam by Maria Johanna Ten Holte, Honorary Consul since 2004. The country’s consulate is centrally and ideally located in the Keizersgracht.

By Roy Lie A Tjam.  The Chancellery of the Embassy of Lithuania was on 26 September 2014 the venue for a Lithuanian classical music concert. Our host was the Ambassador H.E, Mr Darius Jonas Semaska. Ambassador Semaska is a lover of the arts and it was not the first time that he has hosted a musical concert in The Hague. The concert featured the Lithuanian Regnum Musicale, four female musicians and sisters: Joana Daunyte – harp, Vita Marija Daunyte – flute, Kotryna Daunyte – violin and Elena Daunyte – cello, and their mother and leader of the family ensemble, Raimonda Dauniené. The musical programme included masterpieces by Vivaldi, Mendelssohn and Lithuanian composer Čiurlionis amongst others and the amazing musicians impressed the audience by their accomplished performance. It comes as no surprise that Regnum Musicale took first price at a recent international competition of chamber ensembles, Concourso Ibérico, in Madrid. For their achievements and their promotion of Lithuanian talent to the world, the musicians received an official message of thanks from Dalia Grybauskaitė and Valdas Adamkus, the current and previous Presidents respectively of the Republic of Lithuania.

The People’s Republic of China, 65 years old and still going strong. By Roy Lie A Tjam. Here are some extracts from Ambassador H.E. Mr. Chen Xu, remarks on the 2014 National Day. “ On the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, it is our great honor to receive friends from all walks of life in the Netherlands, to celebrate the birthday of our country. On behalf of the Chinese Embassy, I’d like to first express my sincere gratitude to all friends from the Netherlands, diplomatic missions and international organizations, as well as the overseas Chinese community, for the care and support that you have been continuously offering to China’s development. The founding of the People’s Republic of China 65 years ago opened up a new era in China’s history. In the past 65 years, with all Chinese people being united and working hard together, China has achieved magnificent accomplishments, and its comprehensive national power, international standing and people’s living standards have been continuously improved to an unprecedented level. Particularly since the end of 1970’s, China has been following the policy of reform and opening-up, and the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics unswervingly. These unremitting efforts have laid down a solid foundation to realize the great renewal of the Chinese nation, and at the same time made contributions to the world’s peace and development Both China and the Netherlands attach great importance to China-Dutch relations, and share the same strong desire to further strengthen pragmatic cooperation” Hundreds of guests came to the Embassy in The Hague to extend their felicitations to H.E. Ambassador Chen Xu. and his charming wife.