President John Agyekum Kufuor of Ghana was invited to the kingdom of the Netherlands by Queen Beatrix this week. It was meant to honor the relations between the two countries, as well as discuss economic ties.
But a state dinner confronted the Netherlands’ very undiplomatic past with the west African nation.
During the 1600′s, the Dutch came to Ghana, first for gold and other resources. But then turned to the native people for something far more horrific – the slave trade.
Queen Beatrix, in her toast to her Ghanese guests, said the Netherlands looks back at its role in the “inhumane” slavetrade “with horror”. She praised the contribution of the Ghanese diaspora in Holland to the Dutch fabric. Kufuor in turn hailed Royal Dutch Airlines KLM for never having lost faith in Ghana, by always keeping its route to Accra open. “The most dependable airline and country”, Kufuor said of the Netherlands and KLM.
“I have received many invitations, but this was one I could not turn down”, he told Queen Beatrix at a government luncheon at the majestic Trêves Hall, normally the meeting room of the Dutch government. At the state banquet Tuesday evening at Noordeinde Palace, he elaborated on the good relations between the two countries, urging the Dutch to invest more and to join forces with Ghana.
Kirchner welcomed a plan to hold Jordan Investment Forum in Buenos Aires on October 27. A similar event was organised by the Jordan Investment Board in Chile on Tuesday during the first leg of the King’s Latin American tour.
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