Ambassador of Ireland to The Netherlands

Hartelijk welkom!

On behalf of all of us at the Embassy of Ireland in The Hague, welcome to our website. I would also like to extend a particular welcome to newly-arrived Irish people in the Netherlands. Please have a look at the resources available on our Embassy website and we would be very pleased to hear from you.

Ireland and The Netherlands enjoy a warm and dynamic relationship, underpinned by shared values and cultural, economic, and people-to-people links. Diplomatic ties between our countries were established in 1945 and the Embassy was opened in The Hague in 1950 when Josephine McNeill – the first female diplomat to represent Ireland abroad in a Ministerial capacity – presented her credentials to Her Majesty Queen Juliana.

It is a great honour for me to build on this legacy as Ireland’s 15th Ambassador to the Netherlands, at a time when more than 50 percent of Irish diplomatic missions around the world are led by women. I look forward to working with my Dutch counterpart Ambassador Maaike van Koldam at the Embassy of the Netherlands in Dublin.

As Ambassador to the Netherlands, I look forward to building on the strong links between our two countries, emphasising our work on peace, continuing our partnership on economic prosperity, and working globally in the promotion of our common values.

Trade and investment links between our two countries continue to grow. The Netherlands is known globally for its water management and has helped conserve Irish peatland. As a trading nation, the Netherlands is a very significant trading partner for Ireland with bilateral trade exceeding €55 billion annually. The Netherlands consistently ranks among the top 10 most important trading partners of Ireland.

The Netherlands is Ireland’s third largest agri-food export market and second largest agri-food import partner, Ireland’s fifth largest goods export and seventh largest goods import partner, and Ireland’s fifth largest services export and third largest services import partner. We are therefore particularly fortunate that Enterprise Ireland, Tourism Ireland and Bord Bia are represented in the Netherlands.

The benefits of our trade and investment relationship flow both ways. Irish companies with operations in the Netherlands, such as Ecocem, CRH, Kerry Group, Smurfit, Shannon Meats, and Venn Life Science make a significant contribution to the Dutch economy, and Dutch companies operating in Ireland employ up to 4,000 people.

Strengthening and protecting the global multilateral system is more important than ever before. Based in The Hague, the international city of peace and justice, I am committed to promoting Ireland’s interests and values at the International stage as Permanent Representative of Ireland to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

I very much look forward to meeting many of you in person over the coming months, and to growing the friendships that bind the people of our two counties.

With kind regards,

Dr. Ann Derwin