Bahrain, Netherlands for greater trade, bilateral ties

Marking King’s Day 2019, the Dutch Consulate in Bahrain celebrated the birthday of King William Alexander during a reception held by members of the Diplomatic Corps and other dignitaries.  Ambassador of Netherlands, Frans Potuyt, told Tribune, “With 52 years of age and 6 years on the throne, King William Alexander is a relatively young monarch.” “But he and his beautiful family know how to give a modern touch to a centuries-old tradition, in a way that this royal institution remains highly respected and accepted in the turbulence and uncertainties of today’s world.”

The Consul in Bahrain for the Embassy of Netherlands, Jaap Willem Vaandrager said, “The Dutch have a long history of creativity and innovation, but in the meantime, we are proud of our longstanding traditions and ties with Bahrain.”  “In addition to the traditions in my country, we should not forget the longstanding relations between the Netherlands and Bahrain. Dutch tradesmen arrived in the Gulf over 250 years ago looking for a business. They wrote home about an island in the Gulf, ruled by the Al Khalifa family, and the potential for pearl trade and other cooperation.”

“The Dutch East Indies Company (VOC) which dominated trade between the Netherlands and Asia at the time had several trading posts in the region. In 1756, the VOC’s representative in the region, Kniphausen, presented a plan to his superiors to occupy the island of Bahrain, because of its strategic location in the Gulf. The plan was, however, rejected, as the VOC wanted to maintain peaceful relations with the peoples and rulers in the region, and was not interested in occupying territory.” 

“Trade between Bahrain and the Netherlands increased continuously over the past years and has amounted to a record high of more than Euro 500 million. Bahraini’s love our fresh fruits, vegetables, meat and cheese and Dutch flowers. Furthermore, Dutch engineering companies have always been interested in Bahrain. The King Fahad Causeway, for example, has been constructed by Ballast Nedam, a Dutch engineering company.”

“The coming years the Dutch focus on the Gulf-region, including Bahrain, will be centred on three connected spearheads, in which the Dutch are world-leaders to Water, Energy and Food. Netherlands look forward to contributing to the development of Bahrain, and the rest of the GCC members, through a comprehensive approach in which these three themes are interconnected. By working on these themes we are also serving the Sustainable Development Goals as formulated by the United Nations. Bahrain is certainly a partner in achieving a cleaner, sustainable and better world.”

“Working in Bahrain is wonderful, and this is something I constantly hear from the Dutch community in Bahrain as well. The hospitality, generosity and frankness of the Bahrainis and all the people we are working with is striking. I hope the relations between Bahrain and the Netherlands will continue to expand in the upcoming years,” the Consul added.