| Dutch Trade Mission to Macedonia 20-23 May
During the visit to the Netherlands in March ( donwload newspaper article) that was organized by the Embassy with the support of SBW, Dutch SMEs from the flori/horticulture industry were informed on the possibilities of investing in Macedonia. The result has been that a trade mission of several companies will visit Macedonia from the 20th until the 23rd of May to explore concrete opportunities for doing business and investing in the country. Read more... |
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| "Refresh Yourself"Press Conference
The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands held a press conference on Thursday, 24 April 2008 to inform the public about the several events it will organise under the motto "Refresh Yourself" on the occasion of the National Day of the Netherlands - Queen's Day. Ambassador Simone Filippini, Deputy Head of Mission Mr Govert Visser, Mr Dejan Panovski (State Secretary in the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning), Mr Ivica Georgievski (Director of the Agency for Youth and Sports), Mrs Tetjana Lazarevska (Director of the Macedonian Enterprise Development Foundation), Mr. Dejan Spasovic (Art Director of "Refresh Yourself") and Mr Saso Dimitrijoski (President of the Macedonian Cycling Federation) addressed the press and informed about the different aspects of this initiative.
Press release in English (153 KB)
Press release in Macedonian (155 KB)
Kanal 5 News |
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 | € 7 million Dutch Macro-support to Macedonia
On 21 April 2008, the Grant Agreement on the € 7 million Dutch macro-support to Macedonia was signed. The macro-support was provided as a co-financing of the World Bank Programmatic Development Policy Loan (PDPL). “This support is part of the long-lasting relationship between the Netherlands and Macedonia. It is a support to the reform processes this country carries out on its road to EU integration. Since 1999, the Netherlands has provided € 102 million as macro-support to Macedonia. Now the country finds itself in a very important moment, since it has graduated from a development partner country to an EU-accession partner. This requires increasing leadership from the Government and all other institutions, while donor co-ordination remains key to adequate effectuation of aid”, said the Netherlands Ambassador, H.E. Simone Filippini. Read more... |
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| Kick-off meetings of the SAO audits
In the week of 14-18 April 2008 the State Audit Office (SAO) organised the kick-off meetings for the audit teams of three pilot audits. Two audits are follow - up audits and the goal of this type of audit is to assess whether the recommendations of the SAO of the last performed audits have been implemented by the auditee. The third audit is a system based audit.
The meetings were supported by an expert of the Netherlands Court of Audit (NCA), Mr. John Lammerding, Together with his colleague, Mr. Dirk Knol, also an expert from the NCA, they assist the Macedonian auditors during the execution and reporting stage of the audits. Read more... |
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| PRO senior management team visits the Netherlands Tax and Customs Administration
In the period 7 to 11 April 2008, senior staff from the Macedonian Public Revenue Office (PRO), including the Director General Goran Trajkovski, visited the Netherlands Tax and Customs Administration (NTCA) where they were provided with an overview of a modern tax administration environment. The aim of the visit was to gain an overall perspective of the NTCA’s Information Technology platforms, data processing and call centre environment. Read more... |
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| Acknowledgment for the Programme Co-ordinator of the Twinning Project between the Netherlands and Macedonian Customs
On 14 April, the Macedonian Customs Administration celebrated the 16th anniversary of its establishment. On this occasion, the MCA organised a conference on the topic "Simplified Customs Procedures", where the views of different customs experts regarding this important reform were presented. In the ceremonial part of the conference, the MCA presented several acknowledgements to its partners that have assisted the customs in the reform process. Read more... |
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| Exquisite Performance of the Dutch Dance Group on Skopje Dance Fest 2008
The three choreographies ("Cameleon", "The Sofa Scene" and "Heads or Tales - HoT") performed by the Gallili Dance Company on Skopje Dance Fest 2008 received spectacular feedback from the audience: "The twenty dancers from “Gallili Dance Company” have presented impressive physical condition and passion in all three choreographies. They literally played with the light and created magic on the stage..." Read more... |
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| Public Debate on the Occasion of the International Roma Day
On the occasion of the International Roma Day - April 8, the Netherlands Ambassador H.E. Simone Filippini attended the debate on "Challenge and Integration of Roma Community", organized by the Roma MPs Saban Sailu and Nezdet Mustafa, which was held in the Parliament. Read more... |
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| Macedonian Customs on a Study Visit to the Netherlands
During the period April 1-3 2008, five senior officials from the Macedonian Customs Administration visited the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration. The visit took place within the framework of the twinning arrangement between the Dutch and Macedonian Customs funded by the Netherlands Embassy. Read more... |
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| Ambassador Filippini Visits Buchim Mine in Radovis
On 12 March 2008, in the premises of the Buchim mine in Radovis,the Ambassador and the General Manager of Bucim mine, Mr. Vasilij Barutskij, were attending the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding regarding the project “Sustainable mining clean up and pollution management in Bucim and Lojane Mines” between the Mayor of Radovis, Mr. Robert Velkov and the UN Resident Coordinator / UNDP Resident Representative, Ms. Maria Luisa Silva Mejias. Read more... |
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| Presentation of Dutch MATRA Programme
On 31 March and 1 April 2008, a delegation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and implementing agency EVD of the Netherlands visited Macedonia in order to introduce the Dutch MATRA Programme to the Macedonian authorities, civil society representatives and other relevant institutions. The MATRA programme is open for Macedonia as of 1 January 2008. Read more... |
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| In-door Soccer Match: Defence Attachés vs. Ministry of Defence
Friday, 28th of March, the Defence Attachés and their assistants were invited to play an indoor soccer match against the team of the Ministry of Defence lead by Chief of Defence Lt Gen Stojanovski. Special guest and player during this game was Minister of Defence Mr Lazar Elenovski. Read more... |
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| Draft Strategy for Modernisation and Qualification of the Labour Inspectorate
On 2 April 2008, the draft Strategy for Modernisation and Qualification of the
Labour Inspectorate was presented. The Strategy was produced based on the feasibility study on strengthening the capacity of the Labour Inspectorate which assessed the needs and capacity of the Labour Inspectorate. Both activities were implemented with technical assistance funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands through a Trust Fund at the World Bank established to support the implementation of crucial reforms in the several key area, including the labour market. Read more... |
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| MDG3 Fund: Investing in Equality - Call for Proposals
‘Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women’, the third Millennium Development Goal is a priority of the Dutch government. Concrete action is called for to achieve equality between women and men. In order to contribute to the realisation of Millennium Development Goal 3, the MDG3 Fund: Investing in Equality was launched on 15 March 2008. Non-governmental organisations or companies that have specific activities on equal right, law enforcement or activities that increase gender equality and strenghten the position of women can submit their proposals up to 14 May. For more information about the scope and objectives of the fund as well as the guidelines for application, please take a look at www.MDG3.nl |
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| Galili Dance Company Will Perform on Dance Fest Skopje 2008
On April 7th this year, Gallili Dance Company from the Netherlands will perform in the Macedonian National Theatre (Opera and Ballet) as a part of the Dance Fest Skopje 2008. The show will begin at 20.00 hrs on the big stage of MNT.
Read more...
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 | More initiatives to improve the trade and investment exchange
The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Macedonia has been undertaking several initiatives to improve the trade and investment exchange between the two countries. As part of the process, on the invitation of Dutch companies that already have activities in Macedonia, the Netherlands Ambassador, H.E. Simone Filippini participated in events aimed at encouraging Dutch trade and investments with the country. Read more.... |
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| Ambassador Filippini Visits the State Authority for Geodetic Works
On 20th March, the Netherlands Ambassador H.E. Simone Filippini visited the State Authority for Geodetic Works (SAGW). The Director General of SAGW, Mr. Ljupco Georgiveski and his staff presented to the Ambassador the results of the cadastral reforms that have been implemented until today. The reform of the real estate cadastre is one of the main priorities of the Macedonian Government for improving the overall business environment for private sector development. Read more... |
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 | Government's reaction to Wilders' film
28 Mar 2008 | Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende has reacted to the film Fitna that MP Geert Wilders has released on the internet today.
Read more... |
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| “BusiCycles” – Call for Best Innovative Solutions for Bicycles in Business
The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the Republic of Maceodnia and the Macedonian Enterprise Development Foundation (MEDF) published a call for selection of best innovative solutions for bicycle in business – “BusiCycles”. The best solutions will be presented during the celebration of Queen’s Day on 29 April 2008. Read more...
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| SNV Field Visits
SNV ( www.snvworld.org) organised field visits for participants of the embassy on 14 March and 19 March to Berovo and Zajas. In Berovo Govert Visser was shown activities that are being supported by SNV in the fields of tourism (marketing and standardisation), environment (waste collection campaigns) and forestry (National Association of Private Forest Owners - NAPFO, http://www.naps.com.mk). The visit to Zajas, in which SNV regional Director for the Balkans Courtney Bickert, SNV Director Albania/Macedonia Jack Cortenraad and EKN representative Maaike Fekkes took part, focussed on the Tourism Action Plan that Zajas has developed in cooperation with SNV. Read more... |
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| Workshop on Simplified Customs Procedures
In the period 18 and 19 March 2008 the Dutch Customs carried out a workshop on simplified procedures for the Macedonian Customs. In these two days, two experts from the Dutch Customs, Mr. Clemens Wildenborg and Mr. Cor Willemse, exchanged their experiences with their Macedonian colleagues regarding the possibilities of using simplified procedures in Macedonia to facilitate trade and industry. Read more... |
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 | Visit to the SEE University
Ambassador Filippini held a meeting on 17 March with the Rector of the SouthEast Europe University, Mr Alajdin Abazi, at the premises of the University in Tetovo. Mr Dennis Farrington, Pro Rector for Research and International Relations, Mr. Zamir Dika, Pro Rector for Academic Issues, Mr Xhevair Memedi, Secretary General, Mr Luan Eshtrefi, Head of International Relations Office, as well as Mr. Artan Grubi, Political Advisor of the Embassy attended the meeting. Read more... |
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| Meeting with the Democratic Union of Albanians
On March 17, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, H.E. Simone Filippini visited the headquarters of the Democratic Union of Albanians and met its President Mr. Bardhyl Mahmuti. Read more... |
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| ANWB trailer tour to Macedonia
The Royal Dutch touring organization ANWB ( www.anwb.nl) is organizing a trailer tour from the Netherlands to Macedonia on two occasions: between the 17 May and 29 June 2008 and between 30 August and the 2 October 2008. The programme includes an extensive sight seeing programme around Macedonia with an opportunity to learn more about the cultural and historic heritage of the country. For more information please contact kampeerreizen@anwb.nl or visit www.anwb.nl |
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| Ohrid Lake Weekend
"Pension Lale" from Ohrid is organizing a Dutch - Macedonian weekend with a diverse cultural programme between the 18th and 20th of April. For more information please visit their website www.lale-pestani.com or contact: lale_pestani@hotmail.com |
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| Third Business Networking Event
The Embassy organized the third regular business networking event on the 11th of March at the cafe Pizza Libertas. The excellent turnout of Dutch and Macedonian companies from a wide range of industries provided an opportunity for an exchange of business ideas on encouraging and promoting the trade relationships between the two countries. Read more... |
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Embassy
Closed
on Monday,
March 24 | The embassy will be closed for public due to a Dutch holiday (2nd Day of Easter) on Monday the 24th of March 2008. |
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 | Visit to the Municipality of Bitola
The Mayor of Bitola, Mr. Vladimir Taleski, welcomed the Ambassador Simone Filippini on her first official visit to the Municipality of Bitola. During her stay in Bitola, the Ambassador awarded the winners of the Best Business Plan Competition 2007 organised by SPARK and visited several cultural and social institutions. Read more... |
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| Opening of 34th Branch of the ProCredit Bank in Kriva Palanka.
On 27 February Mr. Govert Visser, Deputy Head of Mission attended the formal opening of the 34th branch of the ProCredit bank in Kriva Palanka. In his speech, during the opening event he congratulated the ProCredit bank on its performance in Macedonia, since it established itself well in a period of only 4 years. The Netherlands has been supportive to the setting up of the Pro Credit bank since the beginning in 2004 and is currently a shareholder via the Dutch Financing Company FMO (Finance Co-operation for Development). Read more... |
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 | 5th Anniversary of the Tragic Mine Incident near Sopot
On March 4th Defence Attaché Lt.Col. Arthur Beglinger paid respects and laid fresh flowers at the memorial of the 2 soldiers who lost their lives in the tragic mine incident near the village of Sopot, Kumanovo.
Read more... |
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 | NATO Conference Bucharest and Beyond
The Macedonian Parliament and the Ohrid Institute for Economic Strategies and International Affairs organised a conference on NATO and the role of national parliaments from 17-19 February 2008. The Chairpersons of the Committees on Foreign Policy and Defence of the Parliaments of the NATO member countries, the countries included in the Adriatic Partnership (Macedonia, Albania, Croatia) and the Partnership for Peace participated. Two Dutch parliamentarians attended the conference: Mr. Fred de Graaf (VVD, Party for Freedom and Democracy), Chairman of the committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Development Policy of the Dutch Senate and Mrs Janneke Schermers (CDA, Christian Democratic Party), member of the standing committee on Foreign Affairs of the Dutch House of Representatives. The Embassy has contributed financially to the event. The conference website is www.nato-skopje2008.org.mk Read more... |
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| Ambassador Fillippini Visits Toranica Mine
On February 14th, the Netherlands Ambassador, H.E Simone Filippini, visited the Toranica mine operated by Indo Minerals and Metals DOOEL as part of the Binani Group ( www.binaniindustries.com). Read more... |
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| "Banimex" Starts the Construction of a New Plant
On the 13th of February, "Banimex Holland BV" started the construction of its new processing plant for frozen fruit in Staro Nagoricane with a stonelaying ceremony that was attended by the Mayor of the Muncipality. Read more... |
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| General Assembly of the Dutch Chamber of Commerce
On the 12th of February the Dutch Chamber of Commerce ( www.kvkmk.org) in Macedonia had its annual General Assembly. The President of the DCC and its management team presented the activities for the past year as well as informed on the plans for the upcoming year. Read more... |
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| MASSO Press Conference
The Dutch Ambassador actively attended a widely televized Press conference and promotion of the first ever Annual report for 2007 on human rights of LGBT (Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transgender) people in Macedonia. Read more... |
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| Public Debate - “Proposal for Adoption of a Law on Family Violence” Organised by the Club of Women Parliamentarians
On February 8th, the Club of Women Parliamentarians organised a public debate regarding the “Proposal for Adoption of a Law on Family Violence” submitted to the Parliament by NSDP. The debate was open for the general public and was followed by the representatives from the Government, the NGO sector, the international community and the media. Read more... |
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| Ambassador Simone Filippini Visits the Municipality of Shuto Orizari
On February 6th Ambassador Simone Filippini visited the Municipality of Shuto Orizari and had a meeting with the Mayor, Mr. Erduan Iseni. The Ambassador was introduced to the general facts of this municipality, which has entered the second phase of the decentralisation process, as well as to the problems it is facing in the area of public infrastructure, communal affairs and education. The tax collection rate has started to increase as of last year, but high unemployment rates and lack of education remain the main problems in the first Roma community in Europe. Read more... |
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 | Ambassador Filippini Visits the Municipality of Stip
In her first official visit to the Municipality of Stip, the Netherlands Ambassador, H.E Simone Filippini was welcomed by the Mayor Pande Sarev and the President of the Council Dragi Iliev. They discussed the economic importance of Stip as a centre for the Macedonian garment industry. Many textile companies in Stip have links to the Dutch textile industry supported through the involvement of the Dutch programme CBI in Stip. CBI's activities aim at assisting Macedonian textile companies in transforming their production process in order to be able to compete on the European market and have direct access to EU markets. Read more... |
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 | Macedonian garment producers exibit in Rotterdam
On 13 November 2007, 13 Macedonian garment manufacturers presented their collections at the "Showroom" exhibition in Rotterdam. Among the visitors were famous Dutch buyers such as Claudia Sträter, M&S Mode and M&B Fashion Group. The Showroom is a matchmaking event of the Programme "Outerwear Macedonia", which is a country tailored export coaching programme, implemented and managed by CBI, an Agency of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Read more... |
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 | Field Hockey in Ohrid: Macedonia wins 5-4! Dutch Embassy team asks for return match!
On Saturday, 2 February, a friendly indoor hockey match took place between Macedonia and the Netherlands Embassy team in Ohrid. The game turned out to be an extremely lively and sportsmanlike encounter with both teams well-matched. The youngest player was the Dutch 11-year old goal-keeper, daughter of the Netherlands Ambassador, who herself also participated in the match. The Mayor of Ohrid, Mr. Aleksander Peterski, showed an active interest and was even willing to dress up in the Dutch national colour orange! After the match both teams and their supporters had lunch together and enjoyed a tour by boat on the beautiful Ohrid lake. Read more... |
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 | Training on Auditing
In the period 21 January to 1 February, a training on auditing is delivered to 80 Macedonian customs officers by experts of the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration. This training is part of the bilateral twinning programme between the Dutch and Macedonian Customs Administration, funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. As part of this event, four trainers from the Netherlands will share experiences with their Macedonian colleagues regarding the initial review and administrative audit in general and the audit of Inward Processing and Bonded Warehouse in particular. In the longer term these activities will contribute towards further national and international trade facilitation. Read more... |
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| H.E. Mrs. Simone Filippini Visits the Polio Plus Movement
The Netherlands Ambassador, H.E. Simone Filippini, visited the Polio Plus Movement against Disability on 31 January 2008. Polio Plus has been supported by the Netherlands since 2003. Mr. Zvonko Shavreski, the President of the organization, presented the initiatives that Polio Plus had launched in the past few years. In 2003 Polio Plus established an Inter-party Parliamentary Lobby Group chaired by Lilijana Popovska with the aim to promote the rights of the people with disabilities, in particular by first introducing an Anti-Discrimination Law. Since the elections of 2006 Chairman of the Lobby Group is Ratko Dimitrovski. Read more... |
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 | Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands celebrates her 70th birthday.
Queen Beatrix is due to celebrate her 70th birthday in Amsterdam on Friday.
Beatrix's official birthday is on Thursday, but she has decided to mark the event on Friday during a joint celebration with her sister Princess Margriet, who recently turned 65. Some 150 young musicians and dancers are due to perform a variety of music and dance styles at the Royal Carre Theatre in Amsterdam. The event will be broadcast live on Dutch public television. |
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 | Seminar Developing Fundraising skills
A seminar entitled Developing Fundraising skills started today (28-29 January 2008) in Skopje at the Mala Stanica location of the National Gallery of Macedonia. Based on a previous survey of the needs of artists and art managers in Macedonia, the issues of fundraising and communication will be covered during this seminar. The speakers are Mr. Dirk Evers and mr. Bas van den Bosch from B &D Funding, the Netherlands as well as representatives from M acedonian cultural institutions. More than 40 artists from Macedonia and the region are attending the seminar. The seminar is aimed at the participants who are interested to receive support from institutional donors. It focus es on the process needed to structure and write a successful grant application. The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is supporting this initiative.
http://www.publicroom.org/projects.html
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 | Public awareness campaign on intellectual property rights
On 28 January, a public awareness campaign on intellectual property rights will be launched at the Macedonian Customs Administration. This campaign is funded by the Netherlands under the framework of a twinning arrangement between the Dutch Customs and the Macedonian Customs Administration.
The campaign aims at increasing awareness of the general public on the negative effects of counterfeiting for the economy and the consumer and that can even jeopardise the consumer’s health. It also stresses the illegal and criminal background of counterfeited goods. Read more... |
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 | Netherlands Ambassador visits Ohrid
The Municipality of Ohrid, "Izvor" Fish Farm, Coppens Makedonija, the Ohrid Tourism Fair, and the "Gica" Factory, were recently visited by the Ambassador of the Netherlands. Read on for a short report.... |
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 | Field Hockey: Macedonia - Netherlands
February 2, 2007, Ohrid
On Wednesday, 16 January, the Ambassador attended the Press Conference on the official establishment of the Macedonian Field Hockey Federation. Since a few months, the Netherlands Embassy actively encourages the initiators of field hockey in Macedonia. It is organizing concrete support through field hockey clubs in the Netherlands, the Dutch Field Hockey Federation and the commercial sector (www.dekkersport.nl/webshop). To promote this new sport, a friendly match will be organized between mixed teams of Macedonia and the Netherlands in Ohrid on 2 February. Ambassador Filippini said: "I am looking forward to this sportive challenge, marking the beginning of what I hope will be a series of Dutch-Macedonian field hockey encounters! Knowing the excellent physical condition of our Macedonian friends, we will have to put our best foot forward in February... Read more..... |
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 | The Dutch Minister of Defense sent his heartfelt condolences
On Saturday, 12 January, the Republic of Macedonia lost 11 of its soldiers due to a tragic helicopter accident. The soldiers were on their way back from their mission in Bosnia in the context of Macedonia's participation in the EU military Operation Althea. The Netherlands Embassy in Skopje deeply sympathizes with the grief of the families and friends of the victims. Read more... |
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 | Visa facilitation for the Balkans
Visa facilitation will make travelling to the EU easier for citizens of Western Balkan countries, thus rendering the European perspective more tangible. It is a first step towards the establishment of a visa-free regime. Read the latest on the website of the Mssion of the European Union |
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 | Netherlands Embassy to fund promotion of '197'
The Netherlands Embassy is again funding a campaign to promote the 197 open telephone line at the Macedonian Customs Administration for reporting criminal and corruption activities. The campaign includes leaflets and posters in five languages, Macedonian, Albanian, Turkish, English and French. continue reading.... |
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 | www.studychoice.nl - compare all bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes in the Netherlands
The Netherlands is an increasingly popular study destination for students from around the world who are looking to earn a bachelor’s or master’s degree. The www.studychoice.nl website provides detailed information on English-taught bachelor’s and master’s programmes available in the Netherlands. Transparency is an important aspect of the education system in the Netherlands, and that’s why the website also allows visitors to compare the quality of the various study programmes. Continue reading..... |
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 | New Dutch investments in Macedonia
On 29 November 2007, the new Brako-Weighpack production facility was officially opened in Veles by the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Macedonia, H.E. Simone Filippini. The new plant is equipped with the latest technology for manifacturing of several types of nails, coiled nails and compacted net wire. The joint investment of EUR 1.5 million was realised through EVD. Continue reading... |
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 | VI5IONS
The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs has asked five people from other countries for their perceptions about the Netherlands. Five people who have lived and worked here for a while. How do they see the Netherlands?
On this website you can meet an Egyptian hydraulic engineer, an Australian violinist, an Indian student, a Chinese architect and a Rwandan spokesman for an international organisation. Take a look into the Dutch organisations and companies where they are working. |
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 | International Criminal Court
The Netherlands is the host country for the International Criminal Court, which prosecutes individuals for the most serious crimes of concern to the international community - war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an independent, permanent court that tries persons accused of the most serious crimes of international concern, namely genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The ICC is based on a treaty, joined by 100 countries. Read on about the ICC |
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