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Consular Conversations OTP: The Netherlands, with Jaap Veerman
Nov. 4, 2024
Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce
Netherlands Consul General Jaap Veerman joined Global Atlanta for the first Consular Conversations luncheon held OTP — a term Atlantans use for “outside the Perimeter” loop of Interstate 285 — at the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, which presented the event with Partnership Gwinnett along with sponsorship from longtime organizing partners Miller & Martin PLLC.
The consul general recapped the 2024 royal visit by the Dutch king and queen to Atlanta and Savannah, using it as a prism for the way the consulate is deepening trade and investment ties with the region five years after its opening here. In a wide-ranging conversation, Mr. Veerman, who credited his fishermen ancestors for his loud voice, spoke with stereotypical Dutch directness on a variety of topics, focusing on how the country’s Dutch knowhow on water management, city planning and logistics can help its partners, from nonprofits to governments, universities and, of course, American companies.
He also drew a line between the king’s official apology last year for the monarchy’s role in the transatlantic slave trade and the Dutch support for Black-owned businesses in Atlanta before outlining how the consulate is helping Curaçao, a Caribbean island nation within the Dutch kingdom, promote its commerce and culture in the wake of new nonstop flights to Atlanta.
In a way not-so-typical of diplomats, he addressed head-on the prospects for collaboration with the incoming Trump administration — and outlined factors behind the rightward shift in Dutch politics.
In opening remarks, Gwinnett Chamber President Nick Masino highlighted the community’s unrivaled diversity and recounted progress from the chamber’s recent visit to the Netherlands, which focused on knowledge-sharing exchanges in biotech and innovation as the transformative Rowen Foundation development sprouts in Gwinnett.
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FEATURED SPEAKER:
Trevor Williams,
Managing Editor, Global Atlanta
Nick Masino,
President and CEO, Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce
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“This is the hardest-working consul general I’ve ever seen. A lot of people talk; he is a man of action.”
-Mr. Masino on Consul General Veerman
“Don’t be confused: This is the most global part of metro Atlanta. Let me tell you why — No. 1, we are a million people, twice the size of the city of Atlanta … also, 600 international businesses doing business in Gwinnett County. For 100 or so, it’s their Americas headquarters; for another 200, it’s their U.S. headquarters.
A million people — Let me talk about that again.
One quarter of a million people — let me do the math for you, 250,000 people —who call Gwinnett home were born outside the United States.
And unlike places like South Florida or Texas or San Diego, where they’re all from south of our borders, our folks are from all over from every continent, every community. There are well over hundred dialects and languages spoken in Gwinnett County public schools. We are a global hub for this region.”
–Mr. Masino on Gwinnett’s global diversity
Jacob (Jaap) Veerman,
Consul General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Jacob is the senior Netherlands government representative in the Southeast United States responsible for relations with the states of Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and Alabama. He leads a team working to promote NL-US trade and investment, support Dutch nationals, conduct public diplomacy on key issues, and build scientific and research co-operation.
Jacob Veerman is a national of the Netherlands. He is an internationally experienced diplomat specializing in economic diplomacy, business development, change and project management. Jacob has broad knowledge and experience in the field of water management, agriculture, horticulture, life sciences and health, infrastructure and logistics. He completed his master’s degree in social economic history at Amsterdam University and has a Bachelor’s degree in Education, which started his career as a geography teacher at a Dutch High School in Hoorn, the Netherlands.
For the past 30 years he has held various positions at the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, most recently as the Dutch representative to the Asian Development Bank in Manila, Philippines. He worked as a Sr. Policy Advisor at the Dutch Embassy in Paramaribo (Surinam), was the Dutch Deputy Consul General in Los Angeles and San Francisco, Deputy Ambassador at the Dutch Embassy in Mexico City and Director of the Documentary Information Systems Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Jacob was born in Volendam, the Netherlands. His partner, Petra, accompanies him to Atlanta. Petra and Jacob have two kids, Sandra and Thomas, both studying in the Netherlands. In our spare time we love to travel, visit museums and galleries. We both are passionate collectors of Chinese antique porcelain and Dutch Design. To keep in shape we walk our 2 dogs, hike, swim and regularly visit the gym.
JAAP VEERMAN, Consul of The NETHERLANDS
The most important question from a perspective of mid- or long-term cooperation on innovation is, “Where can we add value?” That’s what I can bring, and that’s where my past has taught me to be humble and listen.
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