Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Netherlands)

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Founded
  
12 March 1798

Annual budget
  
115 billion EUR (2013)

Headquarters
  
The Hague

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Netherlands) wwwpsiorgwpcontentuploads201410Minbuzajpg

Formed
  
March 12, 1798; 218 years ago (1798-03-12)

Jurisdiction
  
Kingdom of the Netherlands

Ministers responsible
  
Bert Koenders, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lilianne Ploumen, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation

Website
  
Ministry of Foreign Affairs

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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Dutch: Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken; BZ) is a Dutch Ministry responsible for foreign relations and international development. Although the Dutch Republic already engaged in extensive diplomatic activity, the present Ministry was created in 1798 as the Department of Foreign Affairs of the then Batavian Republic. It was renamed in 1876 to become the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Contents

The head of the Dutch Foreign Ministry is the Minister of Foreign Affairs, currently Bert Koenders.

Responsibilities

The Ministry is responsible for the foreign relations of the Netherlands and its responsibilities are as follows:

  • to maintain relations with other countries and international organisations.
  • to promote cooperation with other countries.
  • to help developing countries accelerate their social and economic development through international cooperation.
  • to promote the interests of Dutch nationals and the Netherlands abroad.
  • to collect information on other countries and international developments for the Government and other interested parties.
  • to provide information on Dutch policy and the Netherlands' position on international issues and developments.
  • to present the Netherlands to the world.
  • to deal with applications from and the problems of foreigners living in the Netherlands or seeking to enter or leave the country.

    • Organisation

    The Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Development Cooperation (Netherlands), currently Lilianne Ploumen, provide political leadership to the Ministry. The ministry consists of four directorates-general, which deal with a particular policy area:

  • The Directorate-General for Political Affairs is concerned with peace, security and human rights. This includes the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy, the political role of NATO, the United Nations ands the guidance for embassies and other diplomatic missions.
  • The Directorate-General for European Cooperation concerns itself with the European Union. It is responsible for Dutch relations with EU members and candidate countries. It also coordinates policy in other regional organizations like the Council of Europe, the OECD and the Benelux
  • The Directorate-General for International Cooperation is responsible for international development, in line with the four Dutch priorities of water, security and the rule of law, food security and sexual and reproductive health and rights.
  • The Directorate-General for Foreign Economic Relations promotes the interests of Dutch businesses abroad and helps shape the Dutch contribution to the global economic order.

    • The Netherlands has about 140 diplomatic missions abroad, see list of diplomatic missions of the Netherlands.

    History

    The Ministry was formed in 1798 as the Department of Foreign Affairs. Since 1965 a special Minister for International Development has been appointed in each government with the exception of the First Balkenende cabinet and the First Rutte cabinet).

    List of Ministers of Foreign Affairs

    See List of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.

    References

    Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Netherlands) Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA