From April 18th to April 22, 2016 a trade mission consisting of various Dutch entrepreneurs visited Colombia.
The theme of this trade mission was “Design, Architecture, Urban planning and Bicycles”. This trade mission was organized by Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland in close cooperation with Handelsroute.nl and Transfer.
A sizable group of Dutch entrepreneurs and also entrepreneurs from the Dutch Antilles visited Colombia eager to connect with Colombian entrepreneurs, form relevant liaisons and in general try to do business or make the first steps to do business in Colombia.
The Curacao law firm Frans & Associates was also a part of the Dutch trade delegation that visited Colombia.
The start was on Monday April 18, 2016, with a briefing at the hotel where the members of the Dutch delegation stayed. The delegation was welcomed by representatives of the Dutch embassy in Bogota and members of the organizing support entities among others Mr. Gerald Baal and Miss Jessie Brockhoff.
After this briefing and some organizational actions a lunch was offered to the participants by the Dutch embassy. The members of the delegation went to their respective matchmaking meetings.
On Tuesday April 19, 2016, the participants continued with their meetings and visits throughout Bogota. In the afternoon the whole delegation attended the opening of the Feria International del Libro de Bogota (“FILBO”) which was done by HRM princess Leontien of the Netherlands and president Jose Manuel Santos of Colombia. At the opening event of the FILBO the speeches were given by among others the mayor of Bogota Mr. Enrique Penalosa, Mrs Svetlana Alexievich (winner Nobel Prize for Literature 2015), HRH princess Leontien of the Netherlands and president Juan Manuel Santos.
Afterwards the Dutch pavilion at the FILBO was opened by president Juan Manuel Santos and HRH princess Leontien. This year the Netherlands was the guest of honor at the FILBO.
The Dutch pavilion at FILBO is an impressive building area where there were among others an auditorium, a bookstore with books by Dutch and Dutch Antillean authors that have been translated in Spanish. One of the Dutch authors that was present at this event was Mr. Cees Nooteboom. From the Dutch Antilles Mr. Roland Colastica, Mrs. Diana Lebacs and Mr. Krishna Henk Pannay were present.
Within the Dutch pavilion there was also an area called Business Point which was operated by Holland House (the Dutch Colombian Chamber of Commerce). It was at the business that the members of the Dutch Trade delegation also had matchmaking meetings with Colombian entrepreneurs,
There was ample opportunity for the Dutch trade delegation to interact and show their products and services to their Colombian counterparts and the public in general. HRH princess Leontien also visited the business point on Wednesday morning and interacted with the members of the Dutch trade delegation.
In the afternoon some members of the Dutch delegation travelled to Medellin and Cali where they met with other Colombian entrepreneurs and relevant entities.
Mr. Robert Frans had various meetings with Colombian entrepreneurs and (semi) governmental entities and also with the other members of the Dutch delegation. The results were very satisfactory and follow up is being made.
The trade mission was well organized and the organization catered to every need of the participants.
For Frans & Associates this trade mission has been very good and it can be seen as a stepping stone for new business opportunities not only for us but also for our clients and also the beginning of new alliances with key Colombian entities which shall enable Frans & Associates to render enhanced and better services to its clients. Stay tuned as the developments continue we will keep you informed of the development in due time.
If you have any questions regarding doing business in general and doing business in Colombia or if you need legal counseling in Colombia do not hesitate to contact us at info@franslegal.com or call us at +5999 461 2812.