The NBCC North Sea Neighbors Dinner is the NBCC's annual flagship event. Over the dinner, CEOs, Captains of Industry and senior officials discussed the future of the NL-UK trade relationship. Despite the negative impact of Brexit on that relationship, the majority of companies continue to want to grow. The dinner also provides an opportunity for positive cooperation between governments in both countries and business.
The NBCC North Sea Neighbours Dinner 2022 was organised at the Intercontinental Amstel Hotel in partnership with PwC, Lloyds Bank, BAM, Unilever, EY, Heineken, Diageo, Dutch Flower Group, and AON.
Our special guests were Lord Grimstone, Minister of State for Trade, Anita van der Ende, Director-General for European Cooperation, Ingrid Thijssen, chairman of VNO-NCW, and Shevaun Haviland, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce who presented the keynote speeches on this occasion.
Ingrid Thijssen, chairman of VNO-NCW said:
“Our trade relationship with the United Kingdom goes back centuries and it is important that we continue to invest in it. Because Dutch companies still see the UK as an important market, according to the research by the NBCC. It is therefore important that we are able to limit the negative effects on companies due to Brexit – such as higher costs and more administrative burdens – as much as possible. Because there are many opportunities for both our countries to further intensify this cooperation – for example in the field of sustainable energy and innovation. The annual NBCC Awards show that many Dutch and British companies already know each other well in this area and I would like to congratulate all winners.”
The Director-General for European Cooperation, Anita van der Ende, stated:
“As North-Sea-Neighbours and partners, the UK and the Netherlands are looking forward to more collaboration and pushing green recovery"
Additionally, the NBCC handed out awards for four categories to celebrate success in the key growth drivers, and to inspire others by recognising and showcasing outstanding British-Dutch achievements of the past year:
- NBCC Woman of the Year Award 2022 was presented by Marguerite Soeteman - Reijnen, Chair SER Topvrouwen and Board Member AON, and Lord Grimstone, Minister of State for Trade, to Stacey Tank, Chief Transformation & Corporate Affairs Officer at The Heineken Company;
- NBCC Technological Innovation Award 2022 was presented by Simon van Ulden, Partner EY Consulting - Data & Analytics (AI) Leader of EY, and Ingrid Thijssen, President of VNO-NCW, to Dayrize and Unilever;
- NBCC SME Award 2022 was presented by Robert Swaak, CEO of ABN AMRO, and Wineke Haagsma, Director Corporate Sustainability at PwC, to N+P Group;
- NBCC Sustainability Award 2022 was presented by Allard Castelein, CEO of Port of Rotterdam, and Barbara Baarsma, CEO of Rabo Carbon Bank, to BAM Infra Netherlands and Van Oord;
- NBCC Stronger Together Award 2022 presented by Karel van Oosterom, Ambassador of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Chris Barton CMG, HM Trade Commisioner of the Department of International Trade (DIT), and Jacques Damas, CEO of Eurostar, to UK-NL Trade Facilitation Committee;
- NBCC Special Award 2022 presented by Paul Drechsler, Chairman of LondonFirst, and Anton Valk, Chairman of NBCC, to Allard Castelein, CEO of Port of Rotterdam.
To which Minister for Investment Lord Grimstone said:
“These awards have been a wonderful celebration of the individuals and companies who have played a key role in Anglo-Dutch trade and investment this past year. Their achievements are a testament to the long shared history of trade and collaboration between the UK and the Netherlands. We are each other’s fourth largest trading partner and Dutch investment accounts for more than 10% of our inward stock of FDI – a remarkable figure. The UK remains an innovative, attractive destination for Dutch investment, and we are open and ready for business.”
Anton Valk, Chairman of NBCC, noted the following with great enthusiasm in his closing remarks: “We’re proud to have organised this great event with our partners and we are looking forward to a great future together filled with many more inspiring moments.”
