The Wittenburg Conferences are Dutch-Turkish meetings with the aim of strengthening bilateral relations and cooperation between Turkey and the Netherlands through meetings of specific working groups and the exchange of views on topics of common interest.[1] The meetings are at ministerial and official level and are held alternately in the Netherlands and Turkey. Social, economic, cultural and security issues are discussed in these meetings.[2]
History edit
The first Wittenburg conference took place in 2008 in the Wittenburg Castle in Wassenaar. The meetings take place in accordance with the Memorandum of understanding (MoU), signed in March 2008, aimed at strengthening bilateral relations and cooperation between Turkey and the Netherlands.[3] There was no meeting between 2014 and 2018. At the seventh edition in Amsterdam in 2019, when the ties had been restored again, the intention was to organize it annually. This was however not possible due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The June 2022 meeting in Ankara re-established ministerial and official ties. Topics such as the Turkish-Dutch community, counterterrorism, the EU-Turkey relationship, climate and energy were discussed.
Possible expansion edit
The Adviesraad Internationale Vraagstukken (AIV), the advisory body for the Dutch government and parliament in the field of foreign policy, advises in its report to expand the Wittenburg conference to include Germany in the short term and, if progress is made, to convert this into a more permanent tripartite consultation structure.[4]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "The fifth meeting of the 'Turkish-Dutch Bilateral (Wittenburg) Conference' was held in Rotterdam. / Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Foreign Affairs". www.mfa.gov.tr. 6 March 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
- ^ "Turkse minister op bezoek, nadruk op herstel 'sterke vriendschap'". nos.nl (in Dutch). 11 April 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
- ^ "The Sixth Turkish-Dutch Conference was held in Ankara / Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Foreign Affairs". Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken van Turkije. 14 February 2014. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
- ^ "De geopolitieke rol van Turkije: trends en toekomstscenario's". Adviesraad Internationale Vraagstukken (in Dutch). 8 November 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2022.