JAKARTA, 9 December 2024 — Today, Ambassador Marc Gerritsen presented his letter of credence to Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat, officially assuming his post as the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to ASEAN.
Secretary-General Dr. Kao congratulated Ambassador Gerritsen on his assumption of office and reiterated the ASEAN Secretariat’s readiness to work closely with him and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Jakarta. At the presentation of credentials, Dr. Kao said that “ASEAN looks forward to enhance its Development Partnership with the Netherlands, and the adoption of the ASEAN-Netherlands Practical Cooperation Areas (2025-2029) that is pragmatic and adaptive to ASEAN’s needs.”
In response, Ambassador Gerritsen expressed that, “ASEAN and the Netherlands have proven to be reliable friends and natural partners. The Netherlands is committed to deepening its relationship with ASEAN, through our Development Partnership. We are exploring mutual areas of cooperation that will be beneficial both to the ASEAN Member States, including Timor-Leste in its current Observer status, and to the Netherlands.’’
‘’We already work together on topics such as agriculture, cyber and law of the sea. As the Ambassador to ASEAN, I look forward to working with the ASEAN Secretariat and the ASEAN Member States to further strengthening the relationship between the Netherlands and ASEAN,” he added.
Secretary-General Dr. Kao expressed appreciation over the Netherlands’ support for ASEAN diplomats through its annual training programmes on Diplomacy and Regional Cooperation since 2010, and on the Law of the Sea since 2016, which have been organised by the Clingendael Academy in the Hague. He also welcomed the progress in the partnership since the Netherlands was conferred Development Partnership status in 2023.
Both sides acknowledged the need to deepen partnership through concrete projects and activities in areas of mutual interest, including combating transnational crimes, cybersecurity, water management, green transition, climate change, food security and sustainable agriculture, and people-to-people connectivity, among others. They looked forward to the adoption of the ASEAN-Netherlands Practical Cooperation Areas (2025-2029) later this year.
Ambassador Gerritsen is the fourth Ambassador from the Netherlands to ASEAN, succeeding Ambassador Lambert Grijns, who completed his tenure on 27 August 2024.
***
