ANKARA (AA) – A “King’s Day” reception was organized by the Dutch Embassy in Ankara on the occasion of the Dutch national day.
Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek, Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mansur Yavaş, many senior officials and guests attended the reception hosted by the Dutch Ambassador to Ankara Joep Wijnands at the embassy residence.
In his speech here, Ambassador Wijnands said that he and his wife Carmen Wijnands have felt at home in Ankara since the first day.
Noting that they came together to celebrate the birthday of Dutch King Willem Alexander, Wijnands said that this color is important in the Netherlands because the name of the royal family means “orange”.
Wijnands pointed out that the other important symbol of his country is the tulip, and reminded that the tulip came to the Netherlands from the Ottoman Empire.
Pointing out that they are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Treaty of Friendship between Turkey and the Netherlands this year, Wijnands announced that the Dutch-Turkish artist Karsu will give a free open-air concert in Ankara on July 26 to celebrate the anniversary of this special relationship.
Wijnands stated that Turkey and the Netherlands are very close partners in many ways, that commercial relations started centuries ago, and currently more than 3 thousand Dutch companies are active in Turkey.
– The Netherlands is the largest international investor in Turkey
Stating that he is proud of the Netherlands being the largest international direct investor in Turkey, Wijnands said, “We look forward to strengthening trade and providing more cooperation between our countries.” said.
Wijnands said that there are many personal and family ties between the Netherlands and Turkey, and that more than 500 thousand people of Turkish origin live in the Netherlands.
Drawing attention to the political cooperation between the two countries, Wijnands reminded that Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan visited The Hague last week.
Wijnands stated that Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte will also come to Istanbul tomorrow to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and said, “These are of vital importance, especially considering Turkey’s important role in dealing with ongoing geopolitical challenges and the great importance of our cooperation as NATO allies.” carrying.” he said.
Stating that they canceled the “King’s Day” celebration after the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes that occurred on February 6, 2023 and went to Kahramanmaraş to open a “Lale Education Center”, Wijnands said that this center was established to support women and children affected by the earthquakes.
Wijnands pointed out that a group from Kahramanmaraş was also present at the reception and stated that the women in the center worked there within the scope of art therapy.
Wijnands said that they congratulated the Netherlands-Türkiye friendship and said in Turkish: “May this beautiful friendship last forever.” He completed his speech with these words:
