On Wednesday, Chan Santokhi, the president, 0received a letter of introduction from the new Dutch ambassador, Walter Oostelbos. Due to his prior employment in 2018 as the deputy Chef de Poste for more than ten months, Ambassador Oostelbos is not new to Suriname. As the chief representative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, President Santokhi expressed the hope that the ambassador would pledge to work hard to develop the two nations’ bilateral ties.
The Head of State stressed the ongoing development of both technical and political-diplomatic mutual cooperation. The Makandra project is aiming for maximum financial usage as several projects are currently at various phases of development.
President Santokhi and Ambassador Oostelbos jointly look forward to further opportunities for cooperation, based on Suriname’s identified priorities. The historical bond between Suriname and the Netherlands, as well as the connection between both countries and peoples, was referred to as inseparable, with special mention of the valuable Surinamese diaspora in the Netherlands.
Santokhi especially wants to see the development of business-to-business relationships and asks the ambassador to investigate how to implement this together with Minister Albert Ramdin of Foreign Affairs, International Business and International Cooperation.
Oostelbos indicates that it will commit itself to broadening and deepening bilateral relations between Suriname and the Netherlands. He shared his expectation that joint efforts with the Surinamese government will take relations to new heights.
Relations between the Netherlands and Suriname extend across several areas, with numerous projects under the Makandra project as an example of the fruitful cooperation between both countries. The president wishes Ambassador Oostelbos a fruitful and effective term in Suriname.
