Dutch embassy hails ‘long-standing friendship’ with Jordan

AMMAN — The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Jordan on Thursday celebrates the country’s national day and congratulates King Willem-Alexander on his 56th birthday. 

The King’s birthday celebrations are generally known as King’s Day, according to a Dutch embassy statement.

“For the embassy in Amman, King’s Day is an occasion to reflect on the solid ties that bind the Netherlands and Jordan together. This year, we celebrate 72 years of strong diplomatic relations between our two kingdoms. This decades-long relationship is characterised by successful cooperation and coordination in a number of fields and the long-standing friendship between the two Royal Houses. We have been friends and allies for decades,” said Harry Verweij, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Jordan. 

Since 2019, the Netherlands has invested over 200 million euro to assist Jordan with supporting vulnerable people and with the hosting of refugees. The two countries have enjoyed expanded cooperation in a number of fields, in particular water management in agriculture, education, private sector development, human rights, trade and security.

Just last week, Jordan provided logistical support and facilities to assist the Dutch Defence Forces in the process of evacuating Dutch nationals from Sudan. 

“The year 2023 is an exciting year for us as we have started the implementation of our new multi-annual strategy for our development cooperation programme in Jordan. The core of our efforts will remain on supporting refugees and host communities, as we have done in the past. The other areas of focus are: Water and climate, sustainable and inclusive economic growth, and human rights,” added Verweij.

“We will continue to encourage interaction between Jordanian and Dutch knowledge institutions and the exchange of Dutch know-how and innovation with our local partners, while putting the needs of the most vulnerable, such as refugees, host communities, women and youth central to our programming,” the ambassador said.

The Netherlands reaffirmed its continued commitment to Jordan in the coming years with the continuation of the Dutch flagship programme Prospects (implemented in partnership with UNICEF, UNHCR, IFC, ILO and the World Bank), which aims to improve the access of Jordanian host communities and refugees to education, social protection and decent work. 

Furthermore, the Netherlands is looking forward to officially launching the Orange Corners programme with partners like iPark, the Queen Rania Centre for Entrepreneurship, in the coming few months. This Dutch initiative supports young Jordanian entrepreneurs to access training, funding and mentoring to start and grow their start-up businesses. 

On the topic of water and climate, the Netherlands continues to link up Dutch know-how and best practices to help tackle water issues in Jordan through, among others, a rain-water harvesting project with the Inter Islamic Network on Water Resources Development and Management (INWRDAM) and Dutch partners Acacia Water and IHE Delft. In addition, the Netherlands has committed a grant of 30 million euros to the Amman-Aqaba Water Desalination and Conveyance Project. 

On the topic of trade cooperation between the two countries, Verweij noted that the Netherlands is committed to strengthening bilateral trade. Last year, the Netherlands was among the strongest growing export partners of Jordan in the EU. 

A number of Dutch supported projects focus on opening new markets for Jordanian businesses, e.g. namely those exporting olive oil, fruits and vegetables, apparel and cosmetics. Furthermore, these projects also work on promoting investment opportunities for Dutch businesses in Jordan. 

On the political front, the two kingdoms will continue to give their support to the Middle East peace process. The Netherlands considers Jordan as a key partner in achieving peace and stability in the region and recognises Jordan’s important humanitarian role in the hosting of refugees. 

King’s Day is a Dutch “Orange-day”, the colour referring to the family name of the Royal House, Orange-Nassau. Everyone who has visited the Netherland during those celebrations will surely remember the festive and relaxed atmosphere all over the country and the creative orange outfits of all who participate in the celebrations, the statement said.