Very welcome, bonjour, herzlich willkommen, 
 
This is a time of Transition. From winter to spring. Look at the beautiful weather, trees, flowers, blooming.
Talking of flowers, the Netherlands is known for its flowers and we would love to share them with you. According to good tradition, as a token of appreciation for attending today, we’ll love you to take a bouquet of tulips with you once you leave this party today. 
 
Talking about tradition. Once a year, on Kingsday, the famously practical Dutch let loose. People back home collectively let go of their minimalist minds. The whole country turns orange. Strangers become friends. People dance on boats, sells secondhand junk on the street like it’s a national treasure hunt and drink beer before noon. It’s diplomacy by dance floor – and if you happen to visit, we’ll treat your like one of our own. No passport required. Just wear something orange and try not to fall into a canal.
 
Here in Geneva we do it slightly different. A bit more modest. For us, Dutch, it’s always a special feeling to celebrate this day abroad – especially here in Geneva, a city that, like they say about the Netherlands, punches far above its weight on the global stage.
So thank you for being with us to celebrate the birthday of our King, Willem Alexander. You are all special. Sounds corny, but it is true. Nonetheless, I would like to especially welcome and acknowldge the présence of UNOG DG Tatiana Valovaya, of UNCTAD SG Rebeca Grynspan, ITU SG Doreen Bogdan, UNAIDS ED Winnie Byanyima, WMO SG Celeste Saulo and ITC ED Pamela Coke Hamilton, to WHO DG Dr Tedros, IFRC SG Jagan Chapagain and UNICC Director Sameer Chauhan. I feel very honoured and humbled by your presence. 
 
Dear guests, as mentioned - this is a time of transition. But not only the season is in transition, so is the world. With global shifts on a scale previously unheard of. With growing populism, authoritarian regimes on the rise, even in countries we thought were democracies. With things unimaginable happening such as the horrible recent attack on Red Cross staff in Gaza. Money going away from the UN is now being spend om arms and weapons, while the UN is created exactly to bring peace.  
And equally worrying, while leadership and ego’s demand all attention, they take away the focus on issues, topics, that need our urgent attention. While we evaluate the consequence of yet another strange political decision, we fail to give due attention to the situation in Sudan or Myanmar, nor are we speaking about climate change, ocean pollution, topics we need to address jointly, urgently, together. 
 
Having said all that. We, people, are inclined to focus on negative developments, some call it the negativity instinct. We tend to forget the good things happening. Famous is the answer to the question whether over the past 20 years, global poverty has doubled over the past decade, stayed the same, or actually went down by half. This question was asked to a large group of people and hypothetically to a group of chimpansees. 
The Chimpansees did better! Why? Because chimpansees simply gamble. With 3 questions their score is 33%, 1 out of 3. While by far most peoples answer to the question whether poverty has doubled, stayed the same or went down, they think it doubled. Or at least stayed the same. 
While the correct answer, ladies and gentlemen, is actually that poverty globally has declined dramatically. Which is one of the biggest achievements of the last 20 years. 
And there are plenty of other examples of this negativity instinct. 
 
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to downplay the current state of affairs, we áre living through difficult times, we are living in an increasingly unpredictable world…there ís reason for concern. 
 
All I’m saying, there is much more to this troubled world than gets our daily attention. Let’s encourage eachother to maintain the balance. History shows the resilience of people. History shows the extraordinary power of people in dire and gloomy situations. 
I’m especially encouraged when talking to young people, their believes, zeal, ideals and even wisdom are good reasons to be hopeful. 
 
Same goes for us here in Geneva. In the UN family, at WTO and elsewhere. Sure, things good be better but just think of the fact that last year WIPO adopted 2 treaties in 1 year. Hasn’t happened since 1996. And more recently we all together managed to reach agreement on the pandemic treaty. It wasn’t easy, and that’s an understatement, but it’s done, a great succes for the health sector, for WHO (Congratulations to Dr Tedros and his team), a success for the industry, for all of you ánd - ánd for multilateralism. We’re now peparing for UNCTAD 16, the ministerial summit in October, that I have the great privilege to preside over, which I am certain with all of your help and under the good guidance of an excellent SG, Rebeca Grynspan, will bring an impactful, substantive, action -oriënted outcome on trade and development for years to come. 
 
Oliver Wendel Holmes wrote ‘the human race is divided into two classes - those who go ahead and do something, and those who sit still and inquire ‘why wasn’t it done the other way?’ 
Let us in Geneva do the right thing. Stand strong, work together, make this world a better place and look for win-win. And you can count on us, the Netherlands, to do just that. To be a good and solid partner. 
Now, let’s be honest: the Netherlands is not exactly a superpower by size. We’re a country that’s mostly flat, partly underwater, and eternally windy.
Yet somehow, we manage to show up everywhere – in diplomacy, in international justice, in cheese aisles around the world. ☺️
And maybe it’s because so much of our land is below sea level, but we’ve developed a special kind of national personality. We like to keep things dry – our humor, our land, our policies. When your whole country depends on managing water and wind, you become very good at problem – solving. 
Maybe it’s the daily reality that a strong storm could test centuries of engineering – but we’ve developed a national talent for keeping calm and fixing things. If you spend your life holding back the sea with science and sandbags, negotiating peace in 
a boardroom feels like a natural extension. In any case, like you, we strongly belief in multilateralism, in the power of and need for fair and honest negotiations and in the rule of law. 
Let’s do this together!

Thank you