Dutch envoy to Türkiye hails bilateral ties as 'great partnership'

By Sumeyye Dilara Dincer and Gokhan Celiker

ANKARA (AA) – Dutch Ambassador to Türkiye Joep Wijnands has hailed Ankara-Amsterdam bilateral relations as a “great partnership.”

His comment came as the Netherlands embassy organized a concert at the Hierapolis ancient theater in western Türkiye's Denizli on Sunday. The event marks the 100th anniversary of the Treaty of Friendship between the Republic of Türkiye and the Netherlands.

Speaking to Anadolu, Ambassador Wijnands said the joint concert illustrates the fact that “we have such a great partnership.”

Members of the Netherlands' Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra and Orkestra Akademik Baskent from Türkiye’s Baskent University will jointly perform at the concert.

The Dutch ambassador said they were proud to organize the concert, one of the showpiece events that will celebrate the years of friendship.

He also expressed his delight over the concert venue, the Hierapolis ancient theater, which has a nearly 2,000-year-old history.

Wijnands emphasized that the friendship between Türkiye and the Netherlands must be valued, saying he was happy that it would be celebrated with the concert.

On bringing together the two orchestras for a joint concert in a special year, the Dutch ambassador said: "I think it illustrates the fact that we have a great partnership. Not only do we do business or work in the political field together, we also make music together.”

Orhun Orhon, the conductor of Orkestra Akademik Baskent, described the concert in Denizli as “historical” and underlined that the bilateral friendship will be celebrated through the concert.

Another orchestra member, Spanish violinist Anna Albero, was very excited about the event, and said concerts and music bring people together.

Secretary-general of the Sevda-Cenap And Music Foundation, Pinar Alpay Yuksel, expressed their pleasure in being able to be a part of the concert.

- Bilateral relations

The Dutch ambassador said they have also undertaken a project to translate books by Dutch children's author Annie M.G. Schmidt’s works into Turkish.

Wijnands underlined that this year the Netherlands was undertaking activities to help the reconstruction efforts in southern Türkiye, which was devastated by the Feb. 6, 2023 earthquakes.

“We have invited students from the Netherlands to Türkiye to work on solutions for the reconstruction process,” he said.

He pointed out that the Netherlands and Türkiye have maintained diplomatic ties for over 400 years, stretching back to the Ottoman Empire, and that there is a great friendship and partnership between them even today. He also underlined the importance of their relations as NATO allies.

On economic relations, the Dutch ambassador in Ankara lauded the strong and growing trade volume between Türkiye and the Netherlands.

“The Netherlands is proud to be the biggest foreign direct investor in Türkiye. We have more than 3,000 Dutch companies represented in Türkiye,” he said.

He highlighted the presence of a large and successful Turkish community in the Netherlands, noting that second-generation Turkish Dutch citizens, whose parents had migrated to the Netherlands in the 1960s, are now successful entrepreneurs who invest in Türkiye from the Netherlands.

*Writing by Serdar Dincel in Istanbul