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TheNetherlands–Pakistan relations (cultural phrase:Dutch-Pakistani relations) refers to thebilateral, economic, cultural and historical relations between theNetherlands andPakistan.[1] The Netherlands maintains a permanentembassy inIslamabad and honoraryconsulates inKarachi andLahore.[2] Pakistan has an embassy inThe Hague.[3]
KLM were the first airline to fly toKarachi Airport 100 years ago.
Pakistan and theNetherlands established bilateral relations soon after the independence of Pakistan. The Dutch Embassy opened in Karachi in 1955 and shifted to Islamabad ten years later. Pakistan soon became a partner country for the Netherlands, receiving substantial Development Cooperation funds from the 1960s onwards, in particular in the areas of water management/environment, education and governance. In 2011, the Dutch government decided to terminate the structural development projects and shift the focus to trade relations. Since 2004, the Netherlands has hosted more than 100 junior diplomats of Pakistan who were educated and obtained degrees from theNetherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael.[4]
The Netherlands maintains an embassy inIslamabad and two honorary consulates in the cities ofKarachi andLahore. Wouter Plomp is the current ambassador of Netherlands to Pakistan.[5] Pakistan, on the other hand, operates an embassy inThe Hague. Shujjat Ali Rathore is the ambassador of Pakistan to the Netherlands
Consulates of Pakistan and the Netherlands in their respective countries:
Economic relations date back to the 17th century, when the Dutch East India Company established a small trading post in Thatta, Sindh. In March, 1652, Pieter de Bie sailed with his ship to Sindh and set up a trading post (factorij) in competition with the Portuguese and British. This trading post however lasted only eight years, as it was not a commercial success. Several trading missions followed, among which a well documented one in 1757, led by merchants Wolphert Abraham Brahe and Nicolaas Mahue.[8] After this a long period of decline in economic relations set in. Just before World War II, the Royal Dutch AirlinesKLM started to operate a hotel in Karachi, called Midway hotel, as this city was halfway between Amsterdam and Jakarta/Indonesia (the former Dutch colony). The hotel still exists as the Ramada Plaza Karachi Airport Hotel.
In 1948,Philips set up operations in Karachi, which subsequently developed into a manufacturing unit. Around the same timeUnilever opened a company representative branch in Pakistan (Unilever Pakistan) followed by RoyalShell Pakistan.[1] In 1982, Pakistan and the Netherlands signed a bilateralDouble Taxation Agreement, to promote business activities in both countries.[9] Pakistan is the 6th largest non-European economic partner and 13th largest economic partner trading partner of the Netherlands in the world.[10][11][12]
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