PRESS RELEASE

Ambassador Tanya van Gool of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands will open a new Consulate in Constanta on July 6 2010. The good cooperation between the Netherlands and Romania in the field of economy and trade, defence and (harbour) police contributed to the decision of the Netherlands Government to open a Consulate in Constanta.

The honorary consul for the Netherlands will be Mr. Dan Coman who is Country Manager Romania and Serbia at AkzoNobel.

Since 2003 the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands has one operational consulate in Timisoara and soon expects to open a new consulate in Cluj Napoca. The existence of three consulates in Romania emphasises the good bilateral relations between the two countries and confirms the growing Dutch interest in Romania, especially in economic field. The Netherlands already is the biggest foreign investor in Romania, with more than 4,5 billion euro invested until now, representing almost one fifth of the total foreign investments made in Romania.

The decision to open a new consulate in Constanta is consistent with the growing interest of the Dutch companies active in the logistics & infrastructure, water, environment and energy sectors. The Netherlands believe that Romania has the potential of becoming a trade hub for Central and Eastern Europe while the Port of Constanta could become its gateway.

The main purpose of the consulates is to represent the Netherlands in their respective counties and to further strengthen the relations in various fields of bilateral interest. Also consular assistance is provided by the consulates (for visa and passport matters citizens are referred to the Dutch Embassy in Bucharest).

The Dutch ambassador is said to be 'honoured to have Dutch presence throughout Romania and looks forward to fruitful collaboration in business, police, NGO's and cultural institutions'.

On July 7, Ambassador Van Gool will visit Galati. She will meet the local authorities and will visit the Dutch owned company Damen Shipyard.

Note: Ambassador Van Gool is available for interviews on July 6.
Enclosed you will find the invite for the opening reception: Restaurant Domino, Str. Mircea cel Batran nr. 105 between 13.00 and 15.00 hrs. Dress code: formal

For more information please contact:
Caroline Seebregts, Press and Cultural Affairs Department, caroline.seebregts@minbuza.nl / bkr-pcz@minbuza.nl or 021 - 208 6038 or 0743 122551