Netherlands–Turkey relations

Dutch - Turkish relations

Netherlands	Turkey

Dutch-Turkish relations refer to interstate relations between the Netherlands and Turkey. The diplomatic relations widely encompass and span four centuries, beginning in 1612. The first Turkish representative started its activities in the Netherlands in 1859.

Before the Dutch had their own consuls in the Levant, they traded under the French Capitulations of 1569 until they sent Cornelius Haga as a Consul to Istanbul in 1611.^[1] The States-General was responsible for appointing the consul, but the Levant merchants in these cases were closely consulted. The poor payment system for the consuls disrupted the potential successes of the relationship between consul and merchant community. The merchants requested changing to the Venetian fixed salary payment, but the States-General went against their wishes and tried to find other means of income.^[2] This posed problems for the Dutch consuls, and there are many reports of cases where consuls exerted their authority over the nations members who did not want to pay consulate and embassy dues.^[3] Despite internal struggle within the Dutch nation, it had a good relationship with the Ottoman’s and in 1804 Sultan Selim III (1789–1807) appointed the first resident representative to Amsterdam.^[4]

Turkeye is a village of Sluis, a municipality located in the west of Zeelandic Flanders, in the south-western part of the Netherlands. In 1604, Prince Maurits changed the name of the village in Turkeye to thank the Turkish sailors for their support to the Dutch in the battle with the Spaniards in the Dutch War of Independence.

Political relations

Turkey and the Netherlands are both members of the Council of Europe, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Union for the Mediterranean. Also the Netherlands is a European Union member and Turkey is a candidate.

Economic relations

Trade volume between Turkey and the Netherlands has increased remarkably over the years. In 2008, the Netherlands exported for almost 4 billion euros worth of goods to Turkey. This amount is doubled compared to 2000. Turkey exported in the same year 1.6 billion euros worth of goods to the Netherlands, with a share of 32 percent for garment.^[5]

Turkey is a very popular holiday destination for Dutch tourists. In 2009, more than 1.1 million Dutch tourists visited Turkey.^[6]

1894 Dutch companies have invested in Turkey as of February 2011, declared the Foreign Minister of Turkey Ahmet Davutoglu.^[7] The Netherlands is the biggest country who has invested in projects in Turkey.

Visits

Guest	Host	Place of visit	Date of visit	Reference
Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands Princess Máxima of the Netherlands	President Ahmet Necdet Sezer	Ankara , Cappadocia, Istanbul and Kayseri	May 25–28, 2004	[8]
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan	Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende	Huis ten Bosch, The Hague	June 16, 2004	[9]
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands Princess Máxima of the Netherlands	President Ahmet Necdet Sezer	Ankara, Istanbul and Kayseri	February 27-March 2, 2007	[10]

Diplomacy

Of the Netherlands Ankara (Embassy) Istanbul (Consulate General) Antalya (Consulate) Iskenderun (Consulate) Izmir (Consulate) Marmaris (Consulate)

Of the Republic of Turkey The Hague (Embassy) Rotterdam (Consulate-General) Deventer (Consulate) Amsterdam (Honorary consulate) Leiden (Honorary consulate)

See also

• Foreign relations of the Netherlands
• Foreign relations of Turkey
• Turks in the Netherlands
• Cornelius Haga
• Remigration Turkey Pulls, The Netherlands Pushes?, by GÜRKAN ÇELIK, an article on return migration published in Turkish Review
• NTFF - The Netherlands-Turkey Friendship Foundation

References

1. ^ De Groot 1978, pp. 88, 97
2. ^ Steensgaard 1967, pp. 31–33
3. ^ De Groot 1978, p. 221
4. ^ Steensgaard 1967, p. 25
5. ^ Export naar Turkije licht toegenomen (Dutch)
6. ^ Turkije populairst bij Nederlanders (Dutch)
7. ^ Sayın Bakanımızın Hollanda Dışişleri Bakanı Uri Rosenthal ile Yaptığı Ortak Basın Toplantısı, 2 Şubat 2011, Ankara (Turkish)
8. ^ Prins van Oranje en Prinses Máxima bezoeken Turkije (Dutch)
9. ^ Minister-president Erdogan van Turkije bezoekt Nederland (Dutch)
10. ^ Programma staatsbezoek aan Turkije, 27 februari - 2 maart 2007 (Dutch)

External links

• Embassy of The Netherlands in Ankara
• Embassy of Turkey in The Hague
• Consulate–General of The Netherlands in Istanbul
• Consulate–General of Turkey in Rotterdam
• Diplomatic missions of the Netherlands in Turkey
• Diplomatic missions of Turkey in the Netherlands