An opening ceremony organized by the board of Guriga Oranje with the support of the community members was taken place in Mogadishu.
The event was purposely organized on the Kings Day — a national holiday in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Celebrated on 27 April, the date marks the birth of King Willem-Alexander.
Former Deputy Mayor of Mogadishu and member of Guriga Oranje board, Iman Icar said, “Linking Somali-Dutch knowledge to Somalia brings added value and contributes to the progress of the country. GO works on increasing these linkages. Less aid, more trade.”
Panellist and member of Guriga Oranje Khadija Ahmed, Advisor at the Somali Ministry of Public Works said, “We came back to Somalia with an abundance of knowledge garnered in the Netherlands. Let’s practically use this knowledge for Somalia.”
“All businesses need finance. We are working to increase access to financial services in Somalia This is an area where knowledge from the Netherlands can add value to our work.” Vice-Chair of IBS bank and member of Guriga Oranje Abdirizaq Warsame said.
“Today is the first time that we celebrate Kingsday in Mogadishu, with the Dutch-Somali community. A community we are proud of. A community that combines Dutch and Somali entrepreneurial skills, and to be honest, I think this is combining the best of both worlds, maybe even more: the best of the world.” the Netherlands Deputy Ambassador to Somalia, HE Roelof Haveman said in a written letter.
He also added “Accept my apologies for being chauvinistic, but both the Somali and the Dutch are well-known for their tradesman-ship, breaking records, going for the best. Just recently it was a Somali-Dutchman who broke the Dutch marathon record in Rotterdam with the best time ever for the Netherlands. Seeing what Dutch-Somali fellowmen and women do for the benefit of Somalia makes us proud. As businessmen and women, in all sectors of society.”
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