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HE Shamma bint Suhail Faris Al Mazrui, Minister of State for Youth accepted a gift of sunflowers from Dutch children today to mark the celebration of 50 years of bilateral relations between The Netherlands and the UAE. The sunflowers were picked from hundreds of sunflowers recently planted along the Abu Dhabi Corniche, a gift to Abu Dhabi municipality from HE Lody Embrechts, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the UAE. The General Manager of the Abu Dhabi Municipality, HE Saif Badr Al Qubaisi said “the sunflowers bring an extra special touch of joy to residents in the area.”
Opposite Lake Park at the Corniche, passersby were enjoying the new landscape of hundreds of sunflowers to brighten up their day. Within minutes of planting, both young and old were praising their beauty; many were asking questions as to how giant yellow sunflowers got there, where they were grown, and why.
HE Shamma bint Suhail Faris Al Mazrui said, “Sun flowers are a perfect gift, not only because they represent hope, loyalty and gratefulness, but because they are naturally genius creatures, they always turn towards the sun, our main source of energy, light, and nourishment; exactly how Sheikh Zayed wanted Emirati youth to be.”
As part of an awareness campaign on Dutch- UAE relations, young people will be encouraged to scan the QR codes on the sunflower planter boxes to receive an education on the history of the two country’s relationships; and potentially win a prize to go and view Van Gogh’s Sunflower paintings in Amsterdam.
HE Lody Embrechts said, “the sunflower paintings had a special significance for Van Gogh; he wrote that they communicated ‘gratitude’. In 1972, fifty years ago, a predecessor of mine, HE Ambassador Jaap de Hoop Scheffer met with Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan to formally establish relations between our two governments. It’s very appropriate now that these sunflowers have become an expression of our ‘gratitude’ for the close friendship our two countries have enjoyed for many years”.
“Youth have always been central to our activities in the region,” said Ambassador Embrechts. Our activates over the last few years with HE Shamma bint Suhai Faris Al Mazrui and with Youth Hubs throughout the UAE have been inspirational. It’s been such a pleasure to see young people from very different cultures co-exist together and learn from each other, while staying true to their specific backgrounds.”
HE Shamma bint Suhai Faris Al Mazrui said that, “sunflowers know that in order for them to grow tall they need supportive friends, they grow collectively with other flowers. The UAE and the Netherlands are two sunflowers in a field, they nourish and help each other, so they can both flourish together in a long-lasting friendship.”
For more information about entering the competitions and the sunflower walk, see http://qrco.de/NLsunflower
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For media enquiries, please contact:
Brenden McCann | Senior Communications Officer
Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Brendan.McCann@minbuza.nl
© Press Release 2022
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