Dutch Ambassador Willemijn van Haaften: Water is a key bridge connecting Romania and the Netherlands

Willemijn van Haaften, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Romania, who visited Tulcea County these days, said she was impressed by the Danube Delta – a UNESCO site on the Romanian-Ukrainian border – and noted the long-standing Romanian-Dutch cooperation in water management.

‘It is impressive to see these small, highly diverse communities living together in a UNESCO site. We didn’t reach Sulina, but we stopped at Mila 23 and were surprised by how vast this area is. It was impressive,’ the Dutch diplomat told AGERPRES.

Asked whether she had visited Sulina, where the Water Tower built in 1897 with Dutch expertise and financial support is still in operation, the ambassador said she intends to return.

‘I really have to come back for that. It shows that we have a long-standing relationship with Romania, with different parts of this country. And it also shows that we have been working together on water matters for a very long time. We continue to do so today, because we have economic activities in the water sector, in water management, scientific cooperation in various fields, and different projects across the country related to water. So water is an important bridge between the two countries. But economically the relationship is even broader, as we now estimate several thousand Dutch companies operating in Romania – some very large, others small and medium-sized enterprises that are thriving and contributing to Romania’s economic development. They, too, are a bridge between our countries,’ Ambassador van Haaften said.

During her visit, the Dutch diplomat met with Tulcea authorities, visited the village of Mila 23 in the Danube Delta and the Avramide House in Tulcea, and held discussions with representatives of the Delta Emergency Management Inspectorate. The stated purpose of the visit was to understand how Tulcea’s local communities manage life in close proximity to the war in Ukraine. AGERPRES (RO – writing by: Luisiana Bigea; EN – writing by: Simona Klodnischi)