Nederland en Afrika

From October 8 to 10, the ‘World Council’ of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) is taking place in The Hague. Local leaders from around the world are coming together for this event. The World Council meets once a year to collectively make decisions regarding UCLG’s policies, with the aim of highlighting the impact of global issues at the local level, such as economic development, climate change, and conflicts.

Jelte van Wieren, director of the Sub-Saharan Africa department, was present and invites ideas on how local authorities in Africa and the Netherlands can co-create investable projects to realize the EU Global Gateway initiatives. Local governance and municipal diplomacy are crucial for the implementation of the Dutch Africa Strategy, making this knowledge exchange essential.

Mining week in Democratic Republic of Congo
Last week, a group of Dutch businesses visited the DRC Mining Week. This trade mission facilitated partnerships between Dutch and Congolese businesses in the mining sector, which strengthened both the local mining system and the Dutch position along the value chain.

Youth visit to Tanzania
During a visit to Dar es Salaam, our desk officer for Tanzania, Vere Werlotte, met with several NGOs working on youth and women empowerment in the field of media and arts, youth and democracy, and health. She also met with startups focused on supporting young students to become entrepreneurs during their time at university. The goal of these startups is to connect young entrepreneurs with the right support organizations in order to accelerate investment in African youth.

#

Orange Corners Connect Days
Orange Corners aims to support youth entrepreneurship. Recently, all implementing partners, embassy staff and support network from across the world - including 12 countries in Africa - came together in The Hague. Objective: to connect the world to the Netherlands, learn from each other, and plan impactful action.

Orange Corners is a powerful display of how partnerships should work in practice.

Deputy Director Africa, Martine van Hoogstraten, visited the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) last week to confirm relations between our two countries. She was accompanied by Ambassador Angele Samura and Michiel Smet, head of Goma liaison office (photo). The Goma office is at the heart of the Dutch Great Lakes program, a regional program to promote stability by stimulating regional trade and contributing to solutions to problems such as land rights and local insecurity.

Exchange with the African Union on election practices, focusing on the European parliamentary elections. The visit serves as an example of the close cooperation between the African Union and the European Union on the advancement of democratic principles.

Led by His Excellency Bankole Adeoye, AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, de delegation was received by minister Hanke Bruins Slot. Mayor of The Hague, Jan van Zanen, then accompanied the mission to witness the counting of the votes.

The visit will continue in Belgium and Luxemburg.

As diplomats, we speak to many different people; governments, youth, think tanks and humanitarian organizations, for example. We discuss where our interests intersect or overlap. For this reason, the Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa and an employee of the Africa Directorate recently visited Qatar. They spoke with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and with representatives of the Qatar Red Crescent about the situation in Somalia and Sudan. They also spoke with a number of African ambassadors about cooperation between their countries and Qatar. It is clear that both regions are connected in many ways.
Photo credit: MFA Qatar.

Somali members of parliament visit Netherlands to learn more about International Criminal Court (ICC).

During the discussions it was agreed that Somalia’s accession to the ICC would send a strong signal of support. The ICC is crucial for a rule based international order and for the international fight against impunity for the most serious international crimes.

As part of the Diplomatic Training Programme (IBBZ) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, our diplomats in training spend two weeks at an embassy for a consular internship 🎓📚They assist our colleagues on all matters related to consular affairs. This ranges from taking in applications for and issuing Dutch passports, to language exams and Dutch naturalizations 🌍🇳🇱

One of our colleagues interned at the consular desk in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 🇪🇹 An incredibly enriching and interesting experience, where you are able to interact with the people who come to the embassy searching for consular assistance. This is all done at the beautiful embassy, where you may encounter rescued tortoises on the embassy ground 🐢🇳🇱🤝🇪🇹

During his working visit to the Netherlands, president Nangolo Mbumba of Namibia 🇳🇦 visited the Radboud University. This university works together with Namibia to realize the Africa Millimetre Telescope to study black holes.

President van Namibië op bezoek bij de afdeling Sterrenkunde in het Huygensgebouw - Vox magazine Nangolo Mbumba, de president van de republiek Namibië, bracht vanmiddag een bezoek aan de bètafaculteit (FNWI) van de Radboud Universiteit. Hij bezocht onder andere de afdeling Sterrenkunde en het Radboud Radio Lab en ging in gesprek met jonge wetenschappers.

Visit President of Namibia 🇳🇦
Did you know that the Netherlands collaborate with Namibia on Green Hydrogen? This week, President Nangolo Mbumba of Namibia was in the Netherlands to discuss this cooperation and to give a keynote speech at the Green Hydrogen Summit in Rotterdam.

President Mbumba was received by His Majesty the King Willem-Alexander and he had a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Minister of Foreign Affairs Hanke Bruins Slot.

His Majesty King Willem-Alexander receiving His Excellency Nangolo Mbumba, President of Namibia 🇳🇦 at Palace Noordeinde.

De Koning ontvangt de president van de republiek Namibië, de heer Nangolo Mbumba, in audiëntie op Paleis Noordeinde.
Meer weten? Zie: https://www.koninklijkhuis.nl/actueel/nieuws/2024/05/08/koning-en-minister-president-ontvangen-president-van-namibie

Foto: Rotapool – Frank van Beek

Further strengthening 🇳🇱🇹🇷ties, our Director for Sub-Sahara Africa, Jelte van Wieren, visited Ankara for consultations. We thank for the invitation and fruitful discussions and look back on insightful exchanges with and Turkish Africa experts.

Hi everyone!

My name is Stephanie, and I’m excited to have recently joined the Sub-Sahara Africa Department as an AMID trainee in February. I completed my Master International Development Studies at the University of Amsterdam and followed it up with an internship at the Multilateral Institutions and Human Rights Department within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Eager to delve deeper into international development cooperation, I applied for the AMID traineeship at the Radboud University. During my Master’s program I spent three months in Kenya conducting fieldwork for my research on smallholder mango farmers. This experience deepened my interest in the African continent’s complexities and opportunities, motivating me to join DAF and bridge my academic AMID insights with practical work in the African context.

In October 2023, the Parliament adopted the Dutch Africa Strategy, which outlines an integrated approach for the entire African continent. Currently, my primary focus is on assisting with the implementation of this strategy. I am looking forward to an interesting and educational year!

If you have any questions or just want to connect, feel free to reach out! 😊

Today, Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu is visiting the Netherlands with six of his ministers. President Tinubu met with Prime Minister Rutte, while Minister of Foreign Affairs Onyeama met with Minister Bruins Slot. Minister Oyetola of Blue Economy visited the port of Rotterdam.

Nigeria and the Netherlands have been among each other’s top five trading partners for decades. For the Netherlands, Nigeria is an important export market for seeds, while for Nigeria, the Netherlands is important for access to the development of Nigeria’s farming sector.

Africa is the continent of the future with a young, self-aware population eager to do business. Inspired by our Africa strategy, the Netherlands is keen to redefine relations with African partners based on mutual interest, mutual benefit. Welcoming new business partnerships to bring Africa and the Netherlands closer, Jelte van Wieren director Sub Sahara Africa opened NABC’s Africa Works! 2024. This conference brought together over 350 delegates representing African and Dutch businesses and supporters from government eager to facilitate trade and investment.

🌍 International Mother Earth Day 🌍

Climate change affects us all. The Netherlands has committed to reducing CO2 emissions with 55% by 2030. It also decided in 2018 to increase climate support to developing countries. These are two of the many initiatives.

Burkina Faso 🇧🇫

In 1973, the city of Ouagadougou created a « green belt » to serve as the city’s green lungs, to combat heat and pollution. 50 years later, only 60 percent of this belt remains green, and so the Ministry of Environment of Burkina Faso has launched a reforestation campaign. In support of this campaign, the Dutch embassy has committed to reforesting 5 hectares, aiming to plant and protect 500 trees in the short term.

The Dutch Ambassador, Esther Loeffen, is pictured here helping with the initiative.


Burundi 🇧🇮

The photo shows hillside trenches established by a local community to keep surface water from flowing down the hills too fast and promote infiltration, helping Burundi adapt to the challenges of climate change.

The Projet d’Appui pour une Gestion Responsable et Intégrée des Sols (PAGRIS) combines local and scientific knowledge to work towards ecologically sustainable land management in Burundi. It is a collaboration of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Burundi, Wageningen Environmental Research, IFDC-Burundi, and the Burundian association Twitezimbere.

Yesterday we posted about the political efforts of the EU with regards to the war in Sudan. On that same day, minister Liesje Schreinemacher of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, was at the Sudan Conference in Paris. She presented to the efforts of the Netherlands for the people of Sudan and made a pledge for an additional 10 mln euros of humanitarian aid to the country.

Today exactly one year ago, the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) started. Sudan is now the center of the largest displacement crisis in the world, and is facing the worst hunger level ever recorded. This devastating war should not be forgotten. At the initiative of the Netherlands, the EU High Representative issued a statement recalling the EU’s appeal for a durable ceasefire and humanitarian access. The EU will do its utmost to hold all responsible actors committing human rights violations accountable, and to support the Sudanese people in their aspirations for peace and prosperity.

🇪🇺

On March 19, Ambassador Caecilia Wijgers presented her credentials to transition president of Mali, SE Colonel Assimi Goita. By doing so, she has formally started as the Dutch ambassador in Mali to carry out her responsibilities regarding the transition government, civil society and population of Mali, together with the colleagues at the embassy. The long-term aim of the cooperation between Mali and The Netherlands (already lasting for 40 years!) is to contribute to stability, lasting peace and inclusive development, essential in Mali and the wider Sahel region. For example, there is close cooperation in the areas of good governance and the rule of law, health care, water and agriculture, youth employment, and private sector development. These partnerships are of great importance during the transition process in Mali. We look forward to continuing diplomatic relationships between NL and Mali!