Word of welcome at the Embassy Festival, Hotel Des Indes, 7 September 2024
Excellencies,
Distinguished guests,
Welcome everyone to Hotel Des Indes, welcome to the Embassy Festival here in one of The Hague’s most celebrated spots.
With participants from some 55 countries, together you demonstrate The Hague’s reputation as international city of diplomacy, seat of government and heart of the nation’s democracy.
City of peace and justice. All over the world countries and populations are standing up for peace and justice. With its reputation for international law to provide peaceful solutions and punish criminals, ‘The Hague’ is always part of that.
Peace and justice cannot exist without security. Our city’s many international institutions, organisations and businesses must have the necessary security to be able to do their work in peace. Our city has a large cluster of security organisations and companies that work closely with us to make that possible. The city was honoured to welcome the Nuclear Security Summit in 2014 and will be hosting the NATO Summit 2025 in June next year.
Peace and justice thrive on understanding through the exchange of ideas, cultures, cuisines and music. The Embassy Festival provides an excellent example of just that every year. I look forward to making a tour of the festival grounds in a moment.
