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With this dinner, my wife and I want to underline our connection with you. As part of the government, I belong to your team on the basis of the Constitution. And the Queen's involvement in your work is equally strong. We all share the same mission: we serve the Dutch people, in the Netherlands and abroad. That work is beautiful and honourable. But also responsible and demanding.
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As ministers and state secretaries, you can set out lines and make plans. But it is equally important to respond to unexpected events and unpredictable developments. Governing also means: navigating and improvising.
In that respect, you have taken office in an exceptionally turbulent time. Our country is connected to foreign countries by thousands of wires and events elsewhere have a major impact on safety, prosperity and social relations here. Tensions and conflicts thousands of kilometers from our borders are palpable in our city districts. A large group of Ukrainians have sought refuge here, fleeing Russian aggression. Shock waves in Israel and the Palestinian Territories are vibrating in Amsterdam and Vlaardingen. The Queen and I have experienced in a series of meetings how deeply this affects people.
It shows courage and a sense of responsibility to choose - like you - for public affairs and public administration in these times. Such a choice deserves respect and appreciation. I say this emphatically.
A great deal of navigational skill will be required of you now that the seas are rising high. There are so many persistent issues that require your attention. Peace and security, housing, migration, climate, agriculture, sustainable growth. And certainly also strengthening the fragile trust between citizens and their government.
Fortunately, we have a shared compass that has already guided the Netherlands through many storms. Let us uphold our democratic legal order and cherish our long tradition of reasonable consultation with an eye for everyone's interests. In this way, the much-needed trust in each other and in the future can grow again in our society.
The Queen and I look forward to working with each of you. Know where to find us and use us!
You put your energy and talents at the service of the Netherlands. And you are supported in this by excellent and very committed civil servants in your ministries. The quality and loyalty of the civil service organisations is truly a strong point of the Netherlands.
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