Toespraak van minister Henk Kamp bij de 'trade breakfast and business matching' in Melbourne

Toespraak | 03-11-2016

Ladies and gentlemen,

 

400 years ago, a Dutchman called Dirk Hartog set out on a mission to chart new parts of the world and discover opportunities for trade. For 10 months, he and his crew sailed in tough conditions on a boat called Unity and eventually, in 1616, they reached Western Australia. Dirk and his men became the first Europeans to set foot on that part of the continent.

 

Since then, Australia has attracted explorers and pioneers of many different kinds. Such as the 120,000 Dutch men, women and children who migrated to this beautiful country in the 1950s. And the trade mission of more than 90 companies that I have brought to Melbourne today.

 

Melbourne is ambitious and rife with opportunity. The city wants to expand its port, which is the country’s biggest maritime hub. It is planning to transform the city’s infrastructure, for example with the Melbourne Metro Rail. It has the ambition to generate 40% of its electricity from sustainable sources by 2025. And it wants to boost exports of the region’s food products to Asia.

 

The Netherlands is no stranger to such ambitions. We, too, are transitioning to a more sustainable energy system and building smart cities of the future. We are transforming our agri food industry so it can feed a growing global population. And we are developing our infrastructure and agro-logistics, so we can remain the Gateway to Europe for Australian exports as well as a global food hub.

 

My trade delegation represents Dutch knowledge and technology in these areas. And as you will find out today, these companies can contribute to Melbourne’s plans for a better future. They can work on smart logistics in the Port of Melbourne or innovations that will made the region’s food production more productive. They can also help to build Melbourne’s infrastructure, such as tunnels and rail technology, something Dutch company Strukton is already doing.  

 

When working together, our focus would not just be on innovating and building, but also on creating jobs. I know that the departure of automotive companies like GM, Ford and Toyota has been tough on Melbourne. I can empathise with that, because in the late 1990s, our Dutch automotive brand DAF went bankrupt and many people lost their jobs. But the government worked closely with the private sector to revive the plants, and they now produce cars for BMW. The Dutch know how to recover from adversity and I am sure Melbourne can, too.

 

Ladies and gentlemen,

 

The Netherlands and Australia enjoy good trade relations. The Netherlands is the fourth foreign investor in Australia and there have been many trade delegations going back and forth in recent years. The Netherlands also has a diplomatic network on the ground with extensive contacts in all economic sectors.

 

We will be glad to assist you in every way that we can. But for now, the floor is yours. I hope our explorations today will be as fruitful as those of Dirk four centuries ago. I wish you good matchmaking and the start of strong relations that will last a long time. Thank you.