Good News about Colombia

1. Guest Columnist

A little more than a year ago, I arrived in Colombia to start my new position as the Dutch Ambassador in Bogotá. It is not easy to arrive in the midst of a pandemic. One does not really create a professional network through video calls. Nevertheless, important advancements have been made between the Netherlands and Colombia in the past two years.

Colombia is an important partner for the Netherlands as we enjoy a close relationship: we are neighbors! The islands of Aruba and Curacao are part of our Kingdom and they are located next to Colombia. The Netherlands supports Colombia in different areas, such as with the implementation of the Peace Agreement, the protecting of human rights, and with assistance to the Venezuelan migrants and host communities. We also foster cultural and academic exchange and help Dutch citizens in Colombia.

The commercial relations between the Netherlands and Colombia are strong. The proximity of our Kingdom helps. For many Dutch companies Colombia is not that far away. This is demonstrated by high levels of investments by Dutch companies in Colombia, which have even grown during the last two years. Also, the Holland House, Colombian-Dutch Chamber of Commerce has grown to more than 300 affiliated companies, 10 times more than when they started in 2013! Holland House Colombia is now the second largest bilateral trade chamber in Colombia in terms of number of members, right after the one of the United States.

If you think of the Netherlands, what comes to your mind? Flowers? Indeed. Agriculture? Certainly. Water? Absolutely! Innovation? Definitely. Let me elaborate a bit on these sectors.

Being the second greatest exporter of agriculture and horticulture worldwide, these sectors are pivotal for us as the Netherlands, also in our trade relations with Colombia. Priority is given to activities related to “Circular Agriculture” and “Feeding the cities” for coffee, palm oil, bananas, flowers, cocoa and pig and poultry production. We help Colombian producers to improve market access, to build sustainable value chains, to innovate, and we assist Dutch companies to enter with their knowledge the Colombian market.

A cross-cutting theme is water, crucial when we talk about climate change and survival. We cooperate on water management, preferably in public-private partnerships. These collaborations focus first of all on water governance, with projects in for example the Magdalena river basin and Caribbean coast. Secondly, port development, working on re-usage of dredging materials. Thirdly, costal erosion, where we provide advisory services on protection against erosion in northern municipalities and on the island San Andres. And lastly, we contribute to improving drinking water services in Colombia.

In the first week of December I visited the AAPA conference in Cartagena where port leaders, suppliers and international experts gathered. The Netherlands has the largest port in Europe (Rotterdam), which is the main port