By Jhr. Mr. Alexander W. Beelaerts van Blokland, Justice in the Court of Appeal and Special Advisor International Affairs of the Municipality of the City of The Hague
In the first six months of 2014 the King received the credentials of nine new ambassadors living in The Hague area. I will introduce them to you briefly. On January 8th H.E. Mr. Khalid Fahad Al-Kather (1966) of Qatar was the first one this year. He studied in the USA and in the UK. Lately he worked as ambassador-at-large at the Climate Change Conference. The new Turkish ambassador H.E. Mr. Sadik Arslan (1968) was the same day the second. He worked at the Turkish consulte in Jeddah and in the Turkish embassies in Tel Aviv, London and Riyadh. The Hague is his first post as ambassador. On March 2nd the new ambassador of Bangladesh presented his credentials: H.E. Sheikh Mohammed Belal (1964). He studied in Australia and USA (Harvard) and worked at the embassies in Canberra, Kuala Lumpur, Washington and Tashkent. Lately he was Director-General of the MFA. On March 19th H.E. Mr. Timothy Michel Broas (1954) presented his credentials as the new USA ambassador, only a few days before the arrival of President Obama for the Nuclear Security Summit. He worked since 1978 as an attorney-at-law in Washington DC. On April 2nd the new Spanish ambassador H.E. Mr. Fernando Arias González (1952) presented his credentials. He worked at the embassy in The Hague before (in the eighties) and has a Dutch wife from The Hague. This is his fifth post as ambassador. The same day the new Iranian ambassador H.E. Mr. Alireza Jahangiri (1969) presented his credentials. After his PhD in the UK in 2006 he worked at the MFA in Teheran, lately as Director-General International Law. On May 7th three ambassadors presented their credentials to the King. First H.E. Mr. Igor Popov (1963) of Macedonia, who worked from 1992 to 1994 in Eindhoven in The Netherlands. From 1995 he worked for the MFA in Washington and Istanbul and was lately ambassador in Slovenia. Then H.E. Mr. Joseph Cole (1955) of Malta, who worked from 1977 to 1985 and from 1998 for the MFA: as diplomat in Sydney and London and as ambassador in Washinghton, being also High Commissioner in Canada. Lately he was Secretary General of the MFA. Last but not least H.E. Dr. Joe Tony Aidoo (1947) of Ghana, who studied in London and USA and worked since 1980 in Ghana itself in universities, at the MFA and for the President. From 1999 to 2001 he was Deputy Minister of Defence. Gentlemen: welcome tot The Netherlands ! a.beelaerts@planet.nlSouth Sudan, many pasts, no solutions? Is the international community helping or hindering?
By Archduke Ferdinand Leopold von Habsburg-Lothringen of Austria, Prince of Hungary*.
The storm clouds have gathered – this was the feeling, as the first major political rumbles of thunder echoed around Juba in early December of 2013. Few doubted that the internal exchanges within the ruling party, Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement (SPLM), were serious.
The subsequent fighting that broke out among the Presidential Guard, in South Sudan’s capital Juba, and rapidly escalated across into Jonglei State, exposing the major, known fractures within the national Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Army (SPLA), and the rapidly ensuing polarization that pitted the key communities in South Sudan against each other on a level unprecedented since the second civil war indicated that none of this came out of the blue.
The contours of these major fault lines were known to all South Sudanese and any international observer interested enough to read or ask questions.
The fall-out of this violence over nearly 4 months are catastrophic – an estimated tens of thousands dead, over 1 million internally displaced, over 250,000 refugees, a fractured army, a shaky cessation of hostilities that is hardly holding, a political dialogue nurtured by the Inter-Governmental Agency for Development (IGAD) that few South Sudanese have confidence in and a failed development project. Three state capitals have been razed to the ground and the future of the world’s newest country is as insecure as it has ever been, even during its interim phase after the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed in 2005.
Recent observers, disaster journalists, fresh-faced diplomats and eager humanitarians have expounded fluently on the crisis, waxing lyrical on the political fall-out and the latest clashes as well as the gossip around the talks in Ethiopia.
But the international community’s knowledge of the underlying causes of the conflicts in South Sudan, despite years of consecutive analysis, apparently fell short of predicting all this as one senior international official after another exclaimed surprise over the crisis – perhaps exposing over-confidence in their political leverage, recognition of their personal failures and ultimately need for professional self-preservation.
Now, the headlines seem to predict the trajectory of yet another failed state: committees investigating human rights abuses, demands for accountability, threat of sanctions, the call for justice, humanitarian appeals, accusations of international interference, trials against coup plotters… The war of words between yet another entrenched African government and donors… Was independence a mistake, do the many birth attendants regret having being invited to bring it into the light of day, knowing that the parents were so frail and close to divorce?
Certainly, the humanitarian crisis will dominate the headlines again and for many months to come, as millions are food insecure and vulnerable, while the international community ruminates on its next steps, nursing bruised egoes and pulling out a more combative line to attempt to check what it sees as a potentially authoritarian state.
But perhaps this indicates a much more worrying set of issues too, besides those accompanying seemingly failed post-conflict states and one we are much less comfortable in talking about.
Bilateral engagements have tangled humanitarian and development programmes with wider economic and security interests, overemphasizing “stabilisation” of a new state through investment in security only to find that a fractured army and police with weak command and control, discipline and cohesion have used these investments to turn on themselves or strong-arm those opposing it, putting into question civilian oversight.
A number of diplomats have privately admitted that this was a risky endeavor, but scaling down of similar programmes elsewhere around the globe offered an easy transfer of approaches and resources to South Sudan. A more careful calibration should have been made given South Sudan’s predictable trajectory, focusing more on dialogue around nation building and bringing cohesion to the many communities and political groupings.
External priorities have clearly been imposed for more than a few years onto a country and people struggling to draw themselves out of over half a century of violent conflicts (including two civil wars that stretched between 1955 and 1972 and again 1983 and 2005) – only as recently as last year has the international community agreed that its priorities needed to be aligned more closely to the South Sudanese priorities through the New Deal (an extraordinary confession), but meantime there has been bickering and competition over the choicest, most accessible places with little forethought to the implications of more emphasis in some areas over traditionally isolated, insecure and hence marginalized communities, thus entrenching conflict rather than preventing it.
Countering the cycles of violence that go back far beyond the crisis by investing in these marginalized areas is essential.
The over-tendency on quick fix projects with poor analysis of the context and conflict dynamics in South Sudan for many a decade has been well documented, steering from the complex and very real issues to those easiest to address in short, donor-dictated timeframes.
In a nation with 63 ethnic groupings and over 40 base languages, with 70% illiteracy, massive poverty and over 60% classified as youth, the challenges have barely been addressed. Ignoring or simplifying the history, culture and social dynamics to suit external needs is ensuring that few if any of the investments will stand the test of time, and as long as these are furthermore based on limited information that is poorly researched and fuelled by the in-country ‘international gossip mill’ that excludes grassroots voices or uses only a limited, well- versed and often unrepresentative group of South Sudanese, the future of humanitarian action and development remains in question.
This latest outbreak of violence and the response to it indicates the unrealistic expectations laid on South Sudan in terms of what, among the many approaches, has taken root and impacted work ethic and social norms and behaviour. Given the short-term focus, lack of patience and inability to stay the course by many in the international community, as well as a frequent mismatch of technical staff (all- too-often young, brash, impatient, lacking in compassion or too technical), the development framework is at risk of producing further failures.
Cutting and pasting from projects in Kosovo or Afghanistan, while broadly relevant, needs contextualization and since one size does not fit all, more advice needs to be taken from South Sudanese staff and more responsibility given them.
With little or no experience of and appetite for dialogue, reconciliation and peace building work, the international community with few notable exceptions1 has utterly failed (despite clear and consistent high level advice to the UN, diplomatic corps and NGO community) to shore up a functional, solid, wider conflict prevention strategy in support of existing and crucial national and local bodies.
Initiatives such as the Committee for National Healing, Peace and Reconciliation (established in April 2013 but only receiving minimal international support in December 2013 – the month of the crisis), the National Reconciliation Platform (which has been the subject of negative international opinion despite showing its independence) and the All-Jonglei process and conference (January – May 2012 which received minimal international support and maximum cynicism) are prime examples, but the absence of either a strategy or financial support by the international community speaks louder than words. With little or no experience of and appetite for dialogue, reconciliation and peace building work, the international community with few notable exceptions1 has utterly failed (despite clear and consistent high level advice to the UN, diplomatic corps and NGO community) to shore up a functional, solid, wider conflict prevention strategy in support of existing and crucial national and local bodies.
Initiatives such as the Committee for National Healing, Peace and Reconciliation (established in April 2013 but only receiving minimal international support in December 2013 – the month of the crisis), the National Reconciliation Platform (which has been the subject of negative international opinion despite showing its independence) and the All-Jonglei process and conference (January – May 2012 which received minimal international support and maximum cynicism) are prime examples, but the absence of either a strategy or financial support by the international community speaks louder than words.
The adage “prevention rather than cure” has, as yet, not infused the work of the UN or the NGOs in South Sudan, and a new, reflective strategy is needed with political and financial investments behind it.
The international community has reeled back from an ever-growing crisis, failing to ascertain
where obvious longer-term emphasis can be placed to prevent further, deeper social and political fissuring, aiming its sights at blaming individuals rather than affirming its failure to help address the well- known root causes through conflict-sensitive approaches. Humanitarian aid will be the sticking plaster over South Sudan’s gaping wounds, as the country bleeds before its divided leaders and unattended by a divisive and ineffective international community. Attending to the proverbial plank in the international community’s eye may be the first order of business. “Physician heal yourself!”
Archduke Dr Ferdinand Leopold von Habsburg-Lothringen
*Ferdinand Leopold von Habsburg-Lothringen, a Swiss citizen, has been living and working in South Sudan for 16 years, as a humanitarian worker during the second civil war, as well as spending 6 years as an advisor to UNDP in Sudan and in Southern Sudan in focusing on Governance, Peace Building and Community Security and Arms Control. Under UNDP, he was later seconded to the Sudan Council of Churches inter-communal mediation efforts in Jonglei in 2011, and supported the work of the Presidential Committee on Peace, Reconciliation and Tolerance in Jonglei. He has also worked with the Ministry of General Education and Instruction and UNICEF supporting to conceptualise their programme on Peacebuilding, Education and Advocacy. In the last two years Ferdinand joined the core team supporting the process of the Road Map to Reconciliation under the then Vice President H.E. Dr. Riek Machar in an advisory capacity. His most recent appointment is as advisor to the Committee for National Healing, Peace and Reconciliation in South Sudan. He is married to a South Sudanese and speaks colloquial South Sudanese Arabic.
1 Norway, Switzerland and Catholic Relief Services
Disarmament and Non-Proliferation of Weapons in a Changing World
5th Annual Summer Programme on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction in a Changing World
By Tanya Mehra LL.M., Education Development Manager, T.M.C. Asser Instituut.
The WMD Summer Programme from 1 to 5 September 2014 in The Hague is designed as a one-stop shop to expand and deepen knowledge of WMD non-proliferation and disarmament. The programme aims to provide a broad understanding of international treaties on weapons of mass destruction for young professionals and advanced graduate students who aspire to careers in disarmament and non-proliferation, as part of the larger process of enhancing stability and security in the world.
The recent developments in Syria have dramatically highlighted the importance of WMD disarmament and non-proliferation and will be an important feature of this year’s programme.
Just this week the Director of the OPCW announced that a major landmark has been achieved as the last declared stockpile of chemicals has been shipped out of Syria. The mission to identify, remove and destroy the chemical weapons material from Syria has been an unprecedented collective international effort joining the OPCW, the UN and over 30 contributing countries. China, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Russia and the United States have all provided naval vessels and cargo ships for a complex maritime operation to remove the chemical weapons from Syria for destruction outside the country. Italy has provided the port of Gioia Tauro for transhipment of the most dangerous chemical onto a specially out-fitted U.S. ship, the Cape Ray, where they will be destroyed at sea. Other chemical elements will be destroyed at land-based facilities in Finland, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Despite these historic efforts, Syria has not yet completed the elimination of its chemical weapons programme. Dr Paul Walker, director of the Environmental Security and Sustainability Program at Green Cross International and one of the speakers in the WMD programme, noted in a statement that chemical weapons production facilities in Syria have not been destroyed as required under Chemical Weapons Convention.
We are pleased that two senior OPCW inspectors who have been closely involved in the mission in Syria will take part in a panel. Dr Walker will moderate the discussion of this unprecedented mission and look into the challenges that lie ahead.
The Summer Programme will also reflect on the outcomes of the Nuclear Security Summit 2014 held in The Hague and examine implications of the growing convergence of biology and chemistry for the CWC and BWC regimes.
To complement the classroom content of the WMD Summer Programme, one full day is devoted to field visits. These include to the OPCW Laboratory and Equipment Store in Rijswijk, to a nuclear research reactor at the Technical University in Delft, and to the TNO research organisation for a live exercise of investigating an alleged use of WMDs. The field visits offer participants direct experience in the way international treaties on WMDs are implemented at the national level.
If you are interested to join the WMD Summer Programme, there are still some seats available. Please register here.
Burundi, moving on an international scale
By H.E. Vestine Nahimana, Ambassador of Burundi in The Kingdom of The Netherlands.
From its beginnings as a Belgian colony to undergoing a brutal civil war, Burundi is finally celebrating peace and moving from strength to strength on an international scale. I am happy to underline that Burundi is in its 52nd year of independence. As part of the country’s first official long-term diplomatic mission in Europe, I have been given the opportunity to solidify Burundi’s relation with the Netherlands.
Financially speaking, Burundi is Africa’s most rapidly improving nation and as such, has been awarded for its efforts. As the political situation in recent years has stabilized, Burundi’s economy has been allowed to develop. Burundi relies mainly on an agricultural economy, accounting for over 30% of the GDP. The country’s main exports are coffee and tea, which make up 90% of foreign exchange earnings. Our coffee is ranked in the top three on a global scale. Joining the East African Community has been a tremendous economic boost as well as opening up Burundi’s doors to further collaborations. A beach culture is starting on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, which is part of an untouched eco-region in the Albertine Rift. Other water-based tourism options available, such as the many natural hot springs. A possible cruise is also being put into place. Foreign investors are very welcome as most of Burundi remains unspoiled. For example, Burundi is fairly rich in minerals but needs help with the exploitation of mines. Due to its commitment to progress and improvement, Burundi is a model for other African countries and has sent help to resolve other conflicts.
I would like to highlight the role of women and the government measures implemented to ensure the involvement of women. A government subsidized program is set in place to allow women to give birth in hospitals with modern tools at their disposition rather than at home. This act has decreased the infant and maternal mortality rate. Also, elementary school is now free, meaning that the education of girls has increased. Additionally, women compose half of the senate, thus ensuring their participation in Burundi’s development.
Despite being a recent addition to the diplomatic corps in the Netherlands, I am very honoured to have been appointed ambassador to the Netherlands and will continue in my endeavours to forge better communication and understanding with my country in the hopes of establishing a strong tie between the two entities.
Ambassador of Macedonia visiting Schermer Winemerchants & Distillers
The new ambassador of Macedonia in The Hague, HE Mr. Igor Popov, has brought recently an official visit to Schermer Winemerchants & Distillers since 1782- in Hoorn, The Netherlands
Schemer Winemerchants and Distillers -since 1782- Hoorn exist 232 years this year, for the last 12 years as “purveyors to the royal household”. Last year marked a changing of the guards. Daughters Esther Ophoff- Blom and Tanja Philipse-Blom together with her husband Martin Philipse (viticulturist and liquorist) are continuing the century-old business that Paul Blom had taken over in 1982. All three have ample experience in this sector and are taking the business into modern time commerce. Schermer has been importing quality wines and spirits for many years from various wine-producing countries. They produce all the traditional Dutch gins, bitters, liqueurs, eggnog and Boeren Jongens (raisins on brandy).
This working visit was especially organised in honour of the new ambassador of Macedonia, HE Mr. Igor Popov. In this manner Schermer is shining the light on the importance of the seed-enhancement and development that is taking place in Seed Valley West-Friesland and in Macedonia. A joint-venture is to be set up to facilitate exchanges and trainee-internships for students. The guests were shown around the Seed & Agro Laboratory NHN of the Clusius College of Hoorn by Mrs Nancy Boterblom. Mr. Martijn Heddes of Iribov b.v. led the visit of this laboratory in Heerhugowaard and gave an account of their activities. Iribov is a service laboratory for companies in plant ennobling, plant increase and seed- enhancement. The most applied techniques are tissue-culture of plants, analysis through flow cytometry and molecular techniques. All participants were truly impressed by the exceptionally well organised day that, beyond the pleasant aspect, was also substantially informative and promising for future cooperation.
Also present during this visit Mrs Nancy Boterblom – Program Manager Biotechnology at the Clusius College Lab., Mr Bob Smit – Executive Director at the NL Chamber of Commerce in Macedonia, Mr Aart Ruppert – former alderman in Hoorn. Paul Robert Blom, Esther Ophoff-Blom, Tanja Philipse-Blom and Martin Philipse were representing Schermer.
In private, from The Hague to Brussels and beyond
By Dr Richard Blauwhoff, Legal counsel at the Internationaal Juridisch Instituut in The Hague, and by Prof.dr. Vesna Lazic, Asser Instituut, Utrecht University and Rijeka University.
Readers of Diplomat Magazine experience the international dimensions of personal and business relationships in a globalizing world daily. Private international law (PIL), also often known in English as the conflict of laws, provides rules on jurisdiction and the determination of the applicable law governing such relationships. It also deals with the recognition and enforcement of foreign judicial decisions.
As the ‘legal capital of the world’, the position of The Hague in PIL receives less attention, but is also well established. At a global level, the Hague Conference on Private International Law in particular, has played a leading role in harmonizing and unifying PIL. Within The Netherlands, the Internationaal Juridisch Instituut (IJI) has been giving advice to courts and lawyers in cases with a PIL or foreign element since 1918, while the Asser Instituut, as a centre of academic research into international and European law, has its own PIL consultancy.
The Hague Conference is currently addressing two disparate issues: regulation of surrogate motherhood and the creation of a global instrument for the recognition and enforcement of foreign judicial decisions. An overview of the work being done by the Conference in these two areas was given by Ms Marta Pertegás, First Secretary of the organisation, at an expert meeting held at the Asser Instituut on the 22nd of May.
The ‘Europeanisation’ of PIL was recognized by all experts as a broad trend. Thus, in Europe, over the past decades many rules of PIL have come from ‘Brussels.’ This has spawned a regional regulatory framework which co-exists – not always easily- with national and ‘Hague’ regulation of PIL. In some areas such as child abduction, parental responsibilities and maintenance, the EU and the Hague Conference have worked successfully together, so Ms Pertegás affirmed. She also highlighted the greater geographical reach of the organisation, as exemplified by the opening of regional offices in Hong Kong and Buenos Aires in recent years.
In Europe, the ‘recast’ of the EU Brussels II Regulation sparked the interest of scholars and practitioners alike. This regulation contains rules regarding the recognition and enforcement of judgments in matrimonial matters and parental responsibilities, including child abduction within the EU. In preparing a ‘recast’, the Commission has welcomed the input from legal practitioners by means of an on-line consultation.
Many PIL experts recognized that the current Brussels II Regulation contains some serious drawbacks. Professor Katharina Boele-Woelki (Utrecht University) foresaw a number of problems stemming from the apparent reticence of the Commission to tackle complex cross-border family relocation issues.
Since the deadline for completing the survey is approaching on the 18th of July 2014, both staff from the IJI and Asser will be making some practical recommendations. It is hoped that some of the expertise in PIL gathered in The Hague will find its way to Brussels.
Kuwait and The Netherlands, Fifty Years of Diplomatic Relations
By Hafeez M.S. Al-Ajmi, Ambassador of the State of Kuwait to the Kingdom of the Netherlands & Permanent Representative to the International Organizations since October 2010.
It gives me great pleasure to write a short article in the Diplomat Magazine and share some facts about my country, its relation with the Netherlands and its global views and activity. The State of Kuwait gained its independence in 1961 and ever since, Kuwait has two fundamental objectives: to preserve political stability and economic welfare of its nation and people and to promote peace and stability regionally and internationally.
Geographically speaking, both Kuwait and the Netherlands share common features. They are both small nations with access to the sea and both are privileged for having a strategic location which allows them to be one of the leaders of trading nations in the world, especially in the field of oil and gas related issues. In 1964, The Netherlands was one of the first countries which established Diplomatic Relation with Kuwait and based on this solid foundation, both countries maintain strong bilateral relations and enjoy their diplomacy at high level.
Beside the Political ties, Kuwait and the Netherlands have also comprehensive partnership founded on the commitment of strong economic development. Within the EU countries, the Netherlands is the biggest trade partner of Kuwait. Kuwait exports about 2.5 billion euros worth of oil (including other products) to the Netherlands annually and this is more than half of what it exports to all the EU countries. The Netherlands on the other hand, exports about 500 million Euros worth products to Kuwait every year and the common interest of both countries keeps growing. As its name refers, Kuwait Petroleum International, KPI, is a company, which is engaged in research, refinery, marketing and sale of petroleum products internationally. As part of its oil refinery in Europe, KPI has been very active in the Netherlands for more than 30 years through its establishment of Kuwait Petroleum Europoort (KPE) in Rotterdam. KPE is a refinery which processes about 4 million tons of crude oil every year.
In pursue of this economic growth and close partnership with the Netherlands, various Memorandum of Understandings, (MoU), Treaties and Agreements have been signed and implemented between the two countries. One of the latest was the MoU on the environment sector, signed in April 2014, between officials from Kuwait Environment Public Authority (KEPA) and concerned Dutch Authorities, in presence of the Mayor of Rotterdam. In May 2014, Kuwait also signed a six year Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Agreement with Royal Dutch Shell, with an estimated worth of 12 billion dollars.
With respect to enhancing sustainable economy regionally and globally, Kuwait has an honorable record in contributing funds for developing and least developed countries. Established in 1961, The Kuwait Fund for Economic Development, contributes billions of Euros by playing an active role in the fields of education, water supplies, power plant etc. reaching out more than 100 countries all over the world. Simultaneously, in terms of peace, security, respect of sovereignty of states and issues of justice, crime against humanity, human rights which need global solution and international coordination, Kuwait plays a vital role through its donation and contribution to the activities of the concerned International Organizations based in the Hague as well abroad. With these objectives, Kuwait also facilitates and hosts many International Conferences aimed to rally financial support and meet basic humanitarian need of affected communities.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Kuwait – Netherlands Diplomacy. To commemorate this milestone and to further deepen and enhance the mutual cooperation, the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Kuwait, His Excellency Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah visited the Netherlands on the 21st and 22nd of May, 2014. During this time, Sheikh Al-Sabah met his counter part, H.E. Mr. Frans Timmerman, followed by a tete a tete meeting with His Excellency Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Netherlands.
Sheikh Al-Sabah also took the above opportunity to address the opening ceremony of three new residences in Wassenaar together with the Mayor of Wassenaar, Drs. Jan Hoekema. The villas are built for Kuwaiti Diplomats who gets assigned to the Netherlands periodically. The ceremony was also honored by the presence of officials from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and concerned authorities. This month, on June 20th last, the Minister of Oil and Minister of State for National Assembly of the State of Kuwait, H.E. Dr. Ali Saleh Al-Omeir, also visited the Netherlands upon the kind invitation of H.E. Mr. Henk Kamp, Minister of Economic Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands with all the primary objectives to the continuation and fostering a strong spirit of economic cooperation between the two countries.
The fore runners of both countries who planted the seeds of friendly relationship between the two countries, are now reaping the harvest of strong and solid bilateral relationship heading for a greater and brighter future.
India and Indo-Dutch Relations
By H. E. Rajesh N. Prasad, Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of The Netherlands.
Less than two months ago, India completed the largest democratic exercise ever conducted in history. An electorate of more than 800 million registered voters cast their votes in over 900,000 polling stations. This was done through nearly two million electronic voting machines to choose candidates from over 300 political parties for the 543 seats in the Lok Sabha (Lower House of the Indian Parliament). Apart from the large turnout in the elections (over 66%), for the first time in 30 years, a political party secured a majority in the national Parliament on its own.
The new government led by Prime Minister Modi has come to power on the twin planks of governance and development. It has already made known the emphasis it is placing on development through a number of measures focusing on, inter alia, the supply side of agro and agro-based products, skill development, development of infrastructure, etc. as also its desire to rationalize and simplify the tax regime to make it non adversarial and conducive to investment, enterprise and growth.
India today means many things to many people. The images range from that of a large overpopulated country with poverty to a vibrant democracy with a robust and growing middle class, a large pool of skilled manpower and a country which has made advances in the fields of IT, space, biotechnology etc. For many, the connection to India comes from its spiritualism and things like yoga, Ayurveda and meditation. However, to my mind, the defining characteristics and by far, India’s greatest attributes are its open society, tolerance, pluralism and democracy.
The linkages between India and the Netherlands are historic with contacts going back more than four hundred years. Traders, scholars, itinerant travelers have come to India from the Netherlands during this period. By some accounts, the first Indian came to the Netherlands in 1667.
Diplomatic relations between India and the Netherlands was established in 1947 and has been cordial and friendly. In the more recent past, trade and investment have become the dominant themes in our bilateral ties. Today, the Netherlands is both a significant trade and investment partner of India. A number of Dutch majors have had a presence in India for a long time and are household names. We now also have a large number of Indian companies in the Netherlands including all the IT majors. The substantial Indian diaspora in the Netherlands is also playing a useful role and acting as a bridge between the two countries.
There is a good potential for taking bilateral ties between the two countries to a higher level. The complementarities are fairly obvious. On the one hand, India has a young demographic profile, large and growing domestic market, a significant pool of knowledge workers and huge developmental requirements especially in the infrastructure. The Netherlands, in turn, has expertise and niche technology across a broad range, solid credentials in research, world class educational institutions as also a requirement for skilled personnel and a market for its exports. There is a natural match. Areas of special interest for greater cooperation include water and waste management, infrastructure and logistics, agriculture, shipping, cold storage chains etc.
The Netherlands is a friendly, informal and hospitable country. I have found goodwill and friendship from my Dutch interlocutors as also a genuine interest in India and a desire to strengthen ties with India. This has been most gratifying.
Embassy of Mongolia congratulates Diplomat Magazine
The Embassy of Mongolia to the Kingdom of the Netherlands congratulates the ‘’Diplomat Magazine’’ on its first anniversary and wishes all the staff and friends of the magazine success and long lasting fruitful activities that will, for sure, bring together more and more participants from Diplomatic corps in the Hague and beyond it. The launching of Diplomat Magazine is an important event for Diplomatic Corps not only in The Hague but also for the Missions accredited to the Netherlands as a whole, including our Embassy in Brussels as it helps us to be informed about the events hold in The Hague and recent developments in the Netherlands and the world.
We are confident that the Diplomat Magazine is an attractive and useful platform for exchanging news and information on various events and activities in the diplomatic life in the Netherlands as well as a convenient tool for promoting friendship and cooperation between nations through organizing friendly gatherings and extending a possibility to publicize interesting articles and interviews with prominent politicians and public figures from many countries in the region and the globe.
It is also a good opportunity for our Embassy accredited to the Kingdom of the Netherlands with residence in Brussels to be in touch and informed about latest news and events held in the country as well as to introduce Mongolia to the general public and international community presented in the Netherlands.
Laura Fygi at Kastell De Wittenburg
By Eva Mennes.
On 6th of July the great Dutch/International singer Laura Fygi gave a wonderful concert at Kasteel De Wittenburg. Laura has performed throughout Europe, South America and Asia. As a Dutch singer, she even managed to conquer the Chinese market! “I’m always on the lookout for something new, because I don’t think one should repeat oneself” she told me. That willful quest for renewal has rendered collaborations with such music luminaries as Toots Thielemans, Michel Legrand and Michael Franks. Laura has also been presented with various gold and platinum discs and awards, as well as playing the lead role in Singapore of her favorite musical Victor/Victoria.
Meanwhile she signed a contract with one of China’s largest record companies and recorded the CD Flower specifically for the Asian market. It contains original Chinese compositions that Laura had arranged in her own style. Some songs were translated into English and French, but she also sings four songs in the original Chinese!
What is the secret of her success? It is the combination of a number of things. First of all she has a husky voice with a beautiful diction and great timing, which has already been compared to that of Peggy Lee, and the intimacy of Julie London. She has an international appearance that enables her to perform in Ronnie Scott ‘s Jazz club in Soho with the same ease as on the biggest stages in most of the world cities. She looks beautiful and is as Latin as Jazzy. But the most important thing Laura is a storyteller, someone who knows how to turn a song into a story that touches you directly from her heart to yours. While it still swings like crazy!
Photographer: Pieter van Lierop