Expert Seminar Economic Diplomacy for Development - Montesquieu Instituut

Development policy has been changing in significant ways in recent years, both in the Netherlands and elsewhere. Much of this has to do with the emergence of new actors from emerging countries and with the decreasing capabilities of traditional donors in the West. As more attention is also given to the roles and responsibilities of the Dutch private sector in stimulating development abroad, development cooperation is increasingly linked to economic diplomacy, the spearhead of the demissionary Rutte Cabinet.

This seminar addresses the challenges and consequences of this policy reorientation in its broad context. Experts from the public and private sectors, as well as NGOs and academia will discuss whether and how the Netherlands will be able to address competing interests in a changing global context. Speakers include Nanno Kleiterp (FMO Development Bank), Désirée Bonis (PvdA), Ingrid de Caluwé (VVD), Maaike Okano-Heijmans (Clingendael), Jeroen Jochems (DSM), Peter Knorringa (ISS), René Grotenhuis (Cordaid) and several high-level representatives from the Dutch ministries of Foreign Affairs and Economic Affairs.