Workshops on sport and smart/advanced logistics during the trade mission to Brazil

Toespraak | 08-10-2013

Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

If you visit Amsterdam, you can still see the Olympic Stadium.

It was built for the 1928 Olympics.

But the run-up to those Games was far from smooth.

Dutch politicians argued about how they should be paid for.

Conservatives didn’t like the idea of women taking part.

Their outfits would reveal their arms and legs!

And the local council feared traffic chaos and parking problems.

Looking back, they needn’t have worried.

There was no traffic chaos – in the end, only 450 foreign cars came to Amsterdam.

And the event was a great success, even establishing traditions for future Games.

For instance, the Olympic flame started in Amsterdam.

It was also there that the Greek delegation first headed the procession.

And women made their debut in athletics and gymnastics – the main Olympic events.

The Netherlands looks back in pride on a historic Games.

85 years have since gone by.

The challenge my country faced then is nothing compared to what Brazil faces now.

Hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2014, then the Olympics in 2016.

Only 46 countries took part in 1928. Now there are over 200.

And vast numbers of supporters will flock to Brazil for these events.

They’ll need to eat, sleep and get around.

That requires a lot of preparation.

The fact that Brazil is taking up this challenge shows its ambition.

Even after years of growth, it wants to develop more.

Rio de Janeiro aspires to be the gateway to a new, innovative and sustainable Brazil.

It’s investing in improving urban mobility, transport and logistics.

Dutch businesses want to help achieve this ambition.

They are glad to provide expertise and innovative skills.

They want to work with Brazilian partners to promote the future of Brazil.

I support that ambition.

I want to see Dutch firms building roads, airports and stadiums here.

Not just because that promotes economic growth.

But also because it helps foster Brazilian progress.

So it’s no coincidence that I’m in Brazil with organisations active in sport, development and corporate social responsibility.

Take sport, for instance.

It’s not just healthy and fun to watch; it also has a social impact.

The Dutch Football Association has provided special training for football coaches in Brazil.

Not to improve football, but to promote social development.

The coaches focus on issues like HIV, hygiene, violence and drug abuse.

During my visit last year this programme was expanded.

Together with Philips, the Association is now helping to illuminate football pitches in and around schools and villages where electricity is scarce.

The idea is to make days longer.

So that children can go on learning and taking part in sports in the evenings.

Progress is also about good infrastructure.

Brazil is booming, but we can’t allow it to burst.

In the space of 10 years, the number of cars has doubled.

Air- and seaports are greatly in need of expansion.

My country can offer expertise in the field of rapid and sustainable transport.

The Port of Rotterdam has already helped to develop a new port in Espirito Santo,

Dutch businesses have been involved in drafting a master plan for the Brazilian waterways,

and for their part the Brazilian government and businesses are working with Dutch counterparts to develop a multimodal transport corridor.

Dinalog – a network of logistical services, port authorities and research bodies – is part of this trade mission.

It, too, wants to put its expertise at the service of the Brazilian transport sector.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Dutch government encourages businesses and research bodies to join forces.

Both in the Netherlands and abroad.

Because together they can find innovative ways to solve tricky issues.

The sort of issues we face as a small but densely populated country.

And their efficient and sustainable solutions may well help Rio de Janeiro.

In recent decades, Brazil and the Netherlands have stepped up their economic partnership.

Links have been forged in sectors like logistics and sport.

I hope that these contacts will be extended.

It’s not for nothing that I’m here with 40 businesses.

I also hope that this trip will give rise to new partnerships.

That Brazil can profit from our expertise and innovative strengths as it moves forwards.

In sectors like water, soil, waste and urban mobility too, Dutch businesses have a lot to offer Rio de Janeiro.

The Netherlands is always keen to invest in Brazil.

Because Brazil is ambitious – you are not afraid of challenges.

Even though there’s a long road ahead.

But you are pursuing your aims with the boldness and flexibility we know from ‘samba football’.

I’m convinced that your efforts will bear fruit.

Progress for Brazil.

And two great sporting events that the Brazilians will look back on with pride.

Just as the Dutch look back on the Olympic Games of 1928.

Thank you.