Speech by Minister Frans Timmermans, for the NY 400 press conference
Thank you very much Mister Mayor,
Ladies and gentlemen,
400 years ago my country had only very recently gained independence against overwhelming odds. Why? Because the Dutch were driven by their zeal for freedom, by their passion for tolerance and by their unwavering belief that everyone should have a shot at the pursuit of happiness and these were the principles the Dutch brought to these shores when they settled here starting in 1624. And these are the principles with which this great city was built and these are still the principles that have governed the city today. The greatest city on earth one might say.
I do believe that we had a small contribution to New York's DNA and I think it is important to pay attention to this contribution in this year. But it would not be very useful if we were only to look at the past. The past is a bridge to the present and we need to find also a bridge to the future because we want the bonds of friendship that would fossil in four hundred years to remain for the next four hundred years and to be even stronger tomorrow than they are today.
I must say that we should understand that the Dutch people lived with you through good days, good times and through bad times. 9/11 struck at the heart of our beliefs, at the heart of our values but also at the heart of the Dutch people. Something that will never be forgotten and that is when in those times that we saw how deep the friendship is between our two people. I said we don't want only to look at the past and the present we also want to look at the future. That is why we thought of this gift we want to give to New York City. Which is I think a beautiful pavilion designed by Bert van Berkel which will be located at the very spot where the first Dutch settlers arrived and at the first place where they started building the homes and their futures. I think it is a spectacular design which shows that we do understand what the legacy is we are working from but also that we want to look into the future, that we want sustainability, we want to leave this place a better place for our children than we found it when we arrived. I thank you very much for the commitments of New York City to these events. This is something that is carried by both sides of the Atlantic by the Dutch and the New Yorkers and this makes me very proud to be here today and it make me very proud to have heard the warm words of Mayor Bloomberg. Thank you very much for that sir.