World leaders and scientists from almost al countries in the world are gathering in Katowice, Poland for an international climate summit. Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Ministers Eric Wiebes of Economic Affairs and Climate, Sigrid Kaag of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Cora van Nieuwenhuizen of Infrastructure and Water Management, and State Secretary Stientje van Veldhoven of Infrastructure will represent the Netherlands, the Telegraaf reports.
Sigrid Kaag
Oct 26 '18 08:02
A Dutch trade mission to Saudi Arabia in December will definitely not happen. Minister Sigrid Kaag of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation will not go to the country because of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Thursday, NU.nl reports.
Oct 18 '18 15:10
Minister Wopke Hoekstra of Finance canceled his planned visit to an investor conference in Saudi Arabia next week, following the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi after he visited the Saudi consulate in Turkey. The consultancy firm that organized Hoekstra trip confirmed that the Minister is no longer going, ANP reports.
Surveillance camera footage show Khashoggi entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 3rd. There is no footage of him leaving again and he hasn't been seen since. There is still much confusion about what happened to him.
Oct 1 '18 13:10
Minister Sigrid Kaag of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation thinks that stronger rebuttal must be made against populism, she said during the Abel Herzberg lecture on Saturday. While she didn't mention populist parties PVV and FvD by name, she strongly referred to them during her call to better protect democracy, AD reports.
Sep 26 '18 13:20
Over the next five years the Dutch government will invest 20 million euros per year into improving education in developing countries, Minister Sigrid Kaag of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation announced at the United Nations in New York. "Education is one of the priorities of my policy. It offers women and young people opportunities for better work and a decent income", she said, NOS reports.
Sep 11 '18 08:22
The Dutch government supported Jabhat al-Shamiya, an armed group in Syria that the Public Prosecutor labeled terrorist, according to research by Nieuwsuur and Trouw. A Dutch man is currently being prosecuted for participating in this group. The indictment states that Jabhat al-Shamiya is "salafist and jihadist", "strives for the establishment of a caliphate", and "can't be otherwise qualified" than as a "criminal organization with terrorist intent", Nieuwsuur reports.
Aug 21 '18 09:07
Singer Rihanna asked Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Minister Sigrid Kaag of Development Cooperation to donate 100 million dollars to education in developing countries. "I know the Netherlands wanted to pledge to support to global education back in February, so I'd love if you joined me now", she wrote on Twitter.
The singer from Barabods wants the Netherlands to give 100 million dollars to the Global Partnership for Education. She is an ambassador for the organization, according to NOS.
She ends her tweet with 'Dank je!' - Thank you in Dutch.
Jul 24 '18 11:40
The Dutch government is committing an extra 10 million euros to making HIV prevention and AIDS inhibitors more accessible to vulnerable groups, such as men who have sex with other men, drug users, trans people, young people and sex workers. In the coming years, the amount will be invested in supporting these vulnerable groups in regions where HIV is still spreading, Minister Sigrid Kaag of Development Cooperation announced at the AIDS 2018 conference in Amsterdam on Monday, RTL Nieuws reports.
Jul 4 '18 14:20
Halbe Zijlstra is no longer in the running for a job as administrator at the World Bank. The former VVD Minister says that he decided to say no thank you to the job on Monday, the Telegraaf reports.
Zijlstra was a candidate to replace Frank Heemskerk (PvdA) at the bank in Washington. Heemskerk is stepping down this summer.
Jun 1 '18 07:55
The United States implemented import duties on steel and aluminum from the European Union, Mexico and Canada. From 6:00 a.m. on Friday, Dutch time, a rate of 25 percent applies for steel and 10 percent for aluminum from these countries. The Dutch government called the decision unwise and regrettable, NOS and NU.nl report.
Mar 29 '18 07:35
Minister Sigrid Kaag of of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation wants detention centers for asylum seekers in Libya to close as soon as possible, she said after paying a visit to such a center in Tripoli. She was horrified by the conditions in which asylum seekers live in these centers, RTL Nieuws reports.
Mar 8 '18 12:10
Minister Sigrid Kaag of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation will be leading a meeting of the United Nations Security Council in New York on Thursday. Prime Minister Mark Rutte will lead a meeting on March 28th.
Thursday is also International Women's Day. In this context, the Netherlands called on the 14 members of the Security Council to include as many female colleagues as possible in their delegations today, the Telegraaf reports. The Netherlands is the president of the Security Council, the UN's most important body, for the entire month of March.
Mar 5 '18 09:10
New rules proposed by the European Commission could mean an end to the bonus cap for hundreds of Dutch investment firms, though the cap may still apply to companies large enough to be considered systematically important, such as banks and insurers, BNR reports.
Mar 1 '18 10:07
The Netherlands was appointed President of the UN Security Council for this month, the government announced. That is a big honor and responsibility, especially given the fact that the Netherlands is only a temporary member of the Council for this year.
As president of the UN Security Council, the Netherlands will lead all meetings. The president also has an influence on what topics will be on the Council's agenda. "Modernizing peace missions and tackling root causes of conflict such as climate change are Dutch priorities in the Security Council", the government said.
Feb 28 '18 09:14
Dutch tax money was paid to the British branch of Oxfam Novib in 2010 and 2011, Minister Sigrid Kaag of Development Cooperation said in a letter to parliament. Members of that branch of the charity are accused of having sex parties with possibly underage prostitutes on Haiti in 2011, while providing aid in the aftermath of a massive earthquake, RTL Nieuws reports.
Feb 23 '18 07:45
A member of the Dutch cabinet will attend the commemoration of the Armenian genocide in Yerevan in April. But that does not mean that the government is making a statement about whether what happened in 1915 was or was not a genocide, Minister Sigrid Kaag of Foreign Affairs said in the Tweede Kamer on Thursday, NOS reports.
Feb 16 '18 14:58
Minister Sigrid Kaag of Foreign Affairs respects and appreciates the Tweede Kamer's "enthusiasm" to recognize the Armenian genocide, but she will not comment on the government's stance on "the issue of the Armenian genocide" until she's debated the matter with parliament next week, NOS reports.
Jan 25 '18 13:40
The Netherlands committed 29 million euros to She Decides for 2017 and 2018. The Dutch contribution to the now international movement, launched by former Dutch minister Lilianne Ploumen last year, gives over a million women in Ethiopia, Yemen, Mali, Bangladesh, Mozambique and other developing countries access to family planing.
Jan 23 '18 10:38
Queen Maxima and Prime Minister Mark Rutte will head the Dutch delegation to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The theme for this 48th edition of the WEF, taking place from Tuesday to Thursday, is 'Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World'.
Other cabinet members taking part in the forum are Minister Halbe Zijlstra of Foreign Affairs, Minister Sigrid Kaag of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Minister Wopke Hoekstra of Finance, and Minister Bruno Bruins of Medical Care and Sport.
Oct 23 '17 12:00
The names of the Rutte III cabinet's Ministers and State Secretaries were announced on Saturday. In addition to Prime Minster Mark Rutte, there wil be 15 Ministers and eight State Secretaries. Just over a third of the new government are women. The expectation is that the Rutte III cabinet will take office on October 26th, RTL Nieuws reports.
Oct 13 '15 09:48
Minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert of Defense has been named the most influential woman in the Netherlands in the Opzij Top 100 Most Influential Women 2015.
Oct 14 '13 05:10
Sigrid Kaag, a Dutch woman who at this moment works as assistant secretary general for the development program of the UN, is appointed to lead the disarmament mission of the UN in Syria.
The chemical weapons of Syria have to be destroyed. This was agreed by the US, Russia and Syria around half September.
The UN will cooperate in this mission with the OPWC, an organisation which is active with the forbidding of chemical weapons. OPWC is situated in The Hague.
