The front view of the Chancery located at Wagenaarweg 5, The Hague

 

H.E. Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria

Dr.(Mrs.) N.N. Akanbi, Ambassador Embassy of Nigeria, The Hague,

 

PRESS RELEASE

PRESENTATION OF LETTERS OF CREDENCE TO HER MAJESTY, QUEEN BEATRIX OF THE ROYAL KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS ON 18TH JUNE, 2008

        At 9:20 a.m., on Wednesday, 18th June, 2008, Dr. (Mrs.) Nimota Nihinlola Akanbi was received in audience at the Court of Nordeinde Palace where she presented to Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, the Letters of Credence accrediting her as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to the Royal Kingdom of the Netherlands.

2.     In a ceremony marked with pomp and pageantry, she was conveyed to the Royal Palace in the splendour of the Royal coach drawn by horses specially trained for ceremonial occasions such as this, through the city of The Hague.  She inspected a special guard of honour mounted by the Royal Guards.  The inspection was followed by a special rendition of the national anthems of Nigeria and the Netherlands.

3.     The ceremony was the culmination of a series of visits and courtesy calls to a number of senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and of the Dutch Government, on the recommendation of the Foreign Office in the Netherlands.   During the ceremony, she conveyed to Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, the felicitation and best wishes of His Excellency, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as well as the good tidings of the government and people of Nigeria.  The Queen and the Ambassador discussed several

aspects of the relations between Nigeria and the Netherlands.  She was the first of three Ambassadors that presented their Letters of Credence that day.  The other two were the Ambassadors of Cote d’Ivoire and Jamaica

4.     To mark the occasion, a lunch reception was hosted at the Residence where her colleagues from the African Diplomatic Corps, officials of the host Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Representatives of the major companies that operate in Nigeria and leaders of the Nigerian Community were in attendance.

5.     In her brief remark, she promised to improve on the relations between Nigeria and the Netherlands by promoting relations aimed at enhancing the Seven-Points Agenda of the present administration.  She underscored the fact that the relations between the two countries should not be seen only in the light of Shell operations in Nigeria, but emphasized that the bilateral scope should be enlarged to ensure that Intergovernmental discussions are held once every year or in two years.  The Intergovernmental forum will bring to focus all other issues in Nigeria/Netherlands relations such as agriculture, power and energy, science and technology, health, transportation and tourism as well as trade and investment.  She also informed the guests that Nigeria, being the largest market for Dutch products in Africa, should be given special consideration in the Netherlands relationship with Africa.  This is even more imperative in view of the fact that over 27 Dutch companies are fully operational in Nigeria, such as WAMCO in the food and livestock business, Heineken in the beverages, KLM air carriers, Vlisco in the textile industry, Royal Asconin in Construction and infrastructure business.  To that end, she intends to reach out to the business community and other stakeholders as a positive step towards the realization of these noble goals.

6.     Finally, the Ambassador called on the Nigerian Community to be law abiding while pursing their legitimate businesses and avoid acts that bring disrepute to the country.  She assured them of her preparedness to render full and complete service to the Community in the spirit of the Federal Government’s new initiative on citizen’s diplomacy.

Information Section
Embassy of Nigeria
The Hague