Ontvangst Nederlandse ambassadeur in Tanzania (Arusha, 31 October 2024)

 

Excellencies,

Dear participants of the The Hague Justice Week,

Dear Gertrude (and other representatives of Strong Cities Network),

Dear Mr Salomons (Enza) and colleagues from agri- horti and seedproduction sector,

Dear mayor Iranqhe (Arusha), mayors of Masaka city and Koboto and vice mayor of Busia County,

Dear Urusha councillors,

Dear members of our staff,

Distinguished guests,

How wonderful it is to be here together today.

Here, in Arusha.

My profound thanks to Ambassador Wiebe de Boer and his staff for their hospitality.

Arusha and The Hague have a lot in common.

Both are cities of peace and justice.

The United Nations’ International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals has two branches: one in Arusha and one in The Hague.

In addition, judges from Tanzania attend in-depth courses every year at the renowned Academy of International Law in The Hague.

I paid a number of working visits to judicial bodies in Arusha, including the Residual Mechanism.

All as part of The Hague Justice Week.

I am also addressing you today as president of United Cities and Local Governments, UCLG.

The worldwide umbrella organization of local and regional governments, inheritor of a century-old movement with members all around the globe.

UCLG is committed to representing and amplifying the voices of local and regional leaders at the international sphere, and to contribute to enhance our action at the local and international level.

We do that through our advocacy, through exchange of knowledge and experiences and learning from innovative actions from all local and regional governments.

We should not forget that 70 percent of the world’s population lives in urban areas.

It thus follows that the major challenges facing the world must be tackled primarily in cities.

Our focus is on peaceful coexistence and conflict resolution, through what we call: city diplomacy.

Besides peace, sustainability is another important focus for the coming period.

For us this is about more than just sustainability in our own environment, it also extends to social and economic inclusion. To leaving no one and no place behind.

Local and regional governments and private enterprise have a key role to play in this.

We therefore join hands to share knowledge and experience in areas such as climate adaption, food security, local economic development and digital transformation.

All with one goal in mind: creating a better life for the 5 billion people we represent.

This makes it all the better that there are people with different backgrounds here here tonight.

Because the key to success lies in cooperation.

Cooperation between local government officials, between business owners at home and abroad, and with civil society.

In that spirit of brotherhood, reconciliation  and collaboration, I wish you a most enjoyable evening.

Nina furaha kuwa hapa …