Institute of Diplomacy & Foreign Relations Malaysia - Roundtable on 50 years of Diplomatic Relations between Malaysia and the Netherlands: Lessons Learnt

IDFR was first established under the Prime Minister’s Department on 1 July 1991 following a Cabinet decision dated 6 March 1991. It was officially launched on 12 August 1991 by then Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. Its aims were to provide basic training for future diplomats of Malaysia and several selected developing countries, as well as to provide follow-up training for those officers already in the diplomatic service. On 27 March 2004, IDFR officially became part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia.

Roundtable on 50 years of Diplomatic Relations between Malaysia and the Netherlands: Lessons Learnt

The Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations (IDFR) and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands jointly organised a Roundtable to commemorate 50 years of bilateral relations between Malaysia and the Netherlands on 21 February 2008.

The Roundtable is the first of its kind to be jointly organised by the IDFR and a foreign mission in Kuala Lumpur to celebrate their long bilateral relations. The Netherlands has a very special place in the history of Malaysia as it was among the first few European countries that established diplomatic ties with a newly independent Malaya. This roundtable also serves to reflect on the past developments and achievements and to look forward on how the two countries can continue to build upon that relationship, to direct and shape their diplomacy and both enhance as well as diversify their cooperation.

After brief welcoming remarks by Tan Sri Hasmy Agam, Executive Chairman of the IDFR, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tan Sri Rastam Mohd Isa, read out the text of an address by The Honourable Dato’ Seri Syed Hamid Albar, Minister of Foreign Affairs, which, inter-alia, stated that although relations between Malaysia and the Netherlands were on a firm foundation, there were prospects to further strengthen and reinvigorate it, especially in the fields of agriculture, bio-technology, information technology and education. During the Roundtable, which was moderated by Tan Sri Rastam, Prof. Dr. Nordin Hussin, Deputy Director of the Institute of Occidental Studies at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), spoke about the more than 400 years of history of the Dutch-Malaysian relations and Prof. Dr. Farish Noor, Senior Fellow and Director of Research for the Research Cluster ‘Transnational Religion in Contemporary Southeast Asia’ at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies introduced the discussion on the Inter-Civilizational Dialogue in the context of the Netherlands. The Ambassador of The Netherlands to Malaysia, Mr. Lody Embrechts, and the immediate past Malaysian Ambassador at The Hague, Ambassador Dato Noor Farida Ariffin, in their role of commentators, shared their experiences on the various topics discussed.

The overall conclusion was that Malaysia-Netherlands relations were strong and mutually beneficial based on uninterrupted relations ever since the former’s independence in 1957. Right from the very beginning, relations had been influenced largely by mutual economic interests. It is important now to focus on the future and to broaden and deepen the relationship further by working together on a number of other areas, including in enhancing inter-civilization dialogue between the Muslim world and the West, in which each country can play a constructive role.

Also present at the Roundtable were academicians from several universities and institutes, officials from MATRADE and MITI, participants of the Forum for ASEAN Young Diplomats, as well as Wisma Putra and IDFR Officers.