Speaker and ambassador hail UK-Netherlands bilateral relations
28 January 2022
During an introductory meeting in Speaker’s House with His Excellency Karel van Oosterom, Sir Lindsay Hoyle thanked the Dutch for sharing best practice on Covid between chief scientists in both countries.
The Speaker of the House of Commons expressed his empathy and sympathy that the Kingdom of the Netherlands had been hit hard by the latest wave of Covid-19, during a meeting with the country’s ambassador to the UK.
The Netherlands faced a strict lockdown over Christmas and the New Year to try to contain the Omicron variant.
The ambassador said the Dutch Contact Group UK, within the Dutch Parliament, met regularly with the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Netherlands to discuss and promote bilateral cooperation.
Mr van Oosterom also expressed an interest in Mr Speaker's role and mission – vis-à-vis the Dutch parliamentary system – so Sir Lindsay used the opportunity to explain his plans to give the British Overseas Territories a platform and a voice within Parliament.
The topics came up during a meeting hosted by Sir Lindsay as part of his Speaker-led diplomacy to establish enduring ties between countries and parliamentarians.
He said his goal was to bring greater respect and tolerance to Parliament, while also keeping his feet on the ground by returning home to his Chorley constituency most weekends.
Mr van Oosterom hailed the strength of relations between the UK and the Netherlands, which he hoped would be heightened by greater links on trade and education.