May 01 , 2015
News
Embassy of Netherlands celebrates King’s Day
* Ambassador says King’s Day is an occasion to look forward to further strengthen bilateral ties
By Dure Najaf ZaidiThe embassy of Netherlands in Islamabad celebrated King’s Day, the birthday of His Majesty King Willem-Alexander. The embassy of the Netherlands marked its national holiday with a festive reception at Islamabad Serena Hotel. The hall was festooned with orange balloons marking an exuberant and joyous ceremony. The event was attended by a large number of diplomats, politicians, civil society members, media and others.
The ambassador of Netherlands warmly welcomed the guests and shared with them the history and essential characteristics of Dutch cuisine, entertainment and culture.
HE Marcel de Vink, Ambassador of the kingdom of the Netherlands, in his opening remarks expressed his gratitude to the many partners, friends and associates of the embassy who helped strengthen the bond between the two countries. He said, “Many positive results in the past years would not have been possible without countless friends of the Netherlands here in Pakistan - from politics, trade to the fields of culture and development. I would like to thank you all from my heart.”
The ambassador went on to thank the members of the Dutch business circle who contributed to the event. These generous Dutch companies, all active in Pakistan for years, include AkzoNobel, IHC Merwede, Damen Phillips, Shell, SPG Prints, Technology Links, Unilever and 3W.
Highlighting the achievements of the embassy, he said “it has certainly been a good year for the Pakistan-Dutch relations. “Our trade figures went up considerably. Dutch demand for Pakistani textiles has increased by almost one-third, while planeloads of Dutch dairy cattle have started to arrive in Pakistan.” He added that the Netherlands’ minister for development cooperation and international trade had visited Pakistan to explore the trade potential between the two nations and a team of Dutch water experts came over to study Pakistan’s flood management.
Ambassador Marcel de Vink added, “We proudly celebrated the formal launch of the REAT network: a sustainable network of civil society organisations dedicated to the promotion and protection of human rights with particular attention to minorities.” He added that the Netherlands continued its support in the area of technical and vocational training which is of critical importance for the development of Pakistan. These are only a few examples of the active engagement of the Netherlands with Pakistan, he said.
The ambassador said that King’s Day is also an occasion to look forward. “Our objectives for the ties between Pakistan and the Netherlands remain very high. When it comes to trade and investment promotion, we are focusing our efforts on dairy, horticulture, energy, water management and ports & shipping. We are also planning an agriculture trade mission and our minister for development cooperation and international trade is planning to again visit Pakistan soon.”
He added that the Netherlands will also continue to engage with the Government of Pakistan and civil society in the areas of women’s empowerment and human and labour rights in the context of GSP Plus.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk