2012 to be celebrated as Turkish-Dutch friendship year

THE HAGUE (A.A) - December 27, 2011 - Year 2012 will be celebrated as Turkish-Dutch Friendship Year. The friendship year will be celebrated within the scope of the 400th anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties between the two countries. Turkey and the Netherlands began diplomatic relations on May 1, 1612 during the Ottoman period. Turkish and Dutch high-level officials will pay mutual visits during the friendship year which will be celebrated with cultural, artistic, political, economic and sport events aiming to further develop the relations. The celebrations will begin in February with the visit of Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in the Netherlands. The formal opening ceremony will be held in spring with the visit of Turkish President Abdullah Gul. Trade volume between Turkey and the Netherlands reached 10 billion USD in recent period. Turkey hosts more than one million Dutch tourists every year.