Speech by His Royal Highness the Prince of Orange, the Future of Water Gala

Speech | 09-09-2009

Ladies and gentlemen,

A century ago, in September 1909, New York celebrated the three hundredth anniversary of the exploration of the Hudson River by Henry Hudson. It was an immense event, featuring a big parade from Central Park to Washington Square Park.

When Americans put on a show, they don't do things by halves!
Peter Stuyvesant and Rip Van Winkle were in that parade.
And so were the Marquis de Lafayette, Hiawatha, the Frost King, Lohengrin and the Valkyries.

Too bad there wasn't a Flying Dutchman … but a grand celebration it was !

A hundred years have passed since then. It's now 4 centuries since Henry Hudson's voyage. Every time we meet, we realise how much we mean to one another and how much we have in common.

One of the earliest images of your splendid city has its home in The Hague, in our National Archives. It is a water colour by Johannes Vingboons. It shows New York, a good half century after Henry Hudson first set eyes on this spot.

What do we see? Little houses with red roofs. A windmill. Barns. A fort. A church. But mainly … a great deal of water. And ships, large and small, arriving and putting out to sea.

Looking at it, it could be a Dutch town.

400 years ago it all started with water, with a natural harbour and with ships.

Like the goddess Venus, New York was born from the sea. And like Venus, New York will remain forever young. Nothing can break the spirit of this city!

We Dutch are proud of having played such an important part in the birth of your city. We came here as traders. Trade brings cultures into contact. And contact, in turn, often leads to friendship.

In our case it has led to a special friendship. For centuries, the ideal of freedom has been a driving force for both our nations. We have long shared a fascination for exploring and pushing back boundaries, wherever they may be. In the world around us, in trade, technology, culture, or even ourselves. 'Making things possible' is second nature to us.

To take only one example: the greatness of New York City is due in part to the far-sighted Americans who preserved land for watershed protection in the Adirondeck and Catskill Mountains, and built water reservoirs that supply the city with pure water. Engineers built a system that needs no electricity to deliver water to city residents.

The Netherlands, too, has a major reputation as a country of water. Take the Delta Works, for instance, the big coastal defences that protect us from the North Sea.

The urge to make new things possible is something we certainly need today.

We will need all our resolve and knowledge to find solutions to the challenges now facing us. Our countries recognise the need to adapt to the consequences of climate change. We want people in New York and in Amsterdam to be able to live and work safely, despite rising sea levels and increasingly extreme weather conditions. We want our children to grow up with enough clean water. And we can't expect this to happen automatically.

There are no ready-made answers. Each city and each region are different. That's why it's good to exchange experiences and search jointly for the best solutions - both for us and for others.

And that's exactly what we'll be doing today and tomorrow at this H209 Water Forum.

I feel especially inspired by the words of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in her introduction last June to the Report to Congress on the Water for the Poor Act.

She said, "Perhaps no two issues are more important to human health, economic development, and peace and security than basic sanitation and access to sustainable supplies of water [….] Together, we must work to ensure […] that no war is ever fought over water."

Shoulder to shoulder with the United States, the Netherlands will gladly help realise this lofty ambition.

We share more than a special past. At this Hudson 400 celebration we are also looking to the future. Prove that our friendship is alive and well!

So I would like to propose a toast to you all.

To Henry Hudson, the seaman who established the first link between our two countries.
To our partnership, now and in the future.
And to enduring friendship between our two peoples.

Thank you.