"Hello, my name is Rosmarijn Fens, and I am the Managing Director of the Netherlands-African Business Council. 

We hereby congratulate the Embassy of the Republic of Rwanda to the Kingdom of the Netherlands with its’ 15th anniversary. We are at a time full of anniversaries, since just last month, the Rwandan Embassy was present when we, the NABC, celebrated our own 75th Anniversary. 

The aim of the Netherlands-African Business Council is to promote African countries as lucrative destinations for business and investment and to help Dutch companies find their way in Africa. Next to that we see, more and more often, requests coming in from African companies that aspire to do business with the Netherlands and seek our advice - a development that we encourage greatly. 

Rwanda is one of the 15 focus countries of the Dutch private sector, and in the past 15 years the NABC and the embassy have organised multiple events together. I would like to recall the Rwanda Business Day, organised by NABC in Amsterdam in 2015, on the occasion of the visit of His Excellency president Paul Kagame to the Netherlands. 

Other highlights included trade missions. NABC took Dutch entrepreneurs to Rwanda in 2013, 2015 and 2017. We also received a Rwandan Business Delegation that focused on horticulture.

So what do we expect in the coming years? Rwanda is the smallest of all the 15 focus countries, and has been chosen because we do see good business opportunities in the country. 

In order for companies to thrive, it is crucial to have a stable business climate and a well-functioning rule of law - and we hope and expect Rwanda to keep pursuing these important elements.  

We would love to see a resumption of physical trade missions and business events picking up again in the coming few years. 

We wish you a great day and look forward to working with you during the coming 15 years, and far beyond! 

Bye!"