September 30, 2010 — The Netherlands' ambassador to the United States, Renee Jones-Bos, will come to the University of Virginia Monday to discuss relations between Amsterdam and Washington.

Her talk, "Two Countries, One Spirit, United by Values, History and a Vision of the Future," continues the University's Ambassadors' Speakers Forum, which is sponsored by the Office of the Vice Provost for International Programs. The talk will begin at 3:30 p.m. in the South Lawn Auditorium in Nau Hall.

The U.S. and the Netherlands enjoy excellent relations. The Netherlands was one of the first countries to recognize the United States in 1782. That same year, the Dutch granted the United States its first loan.

The Dutch-American community in the Netherlands celebrates these good relations with an annual "Friendship Day," which takes place in April. It recalls the day when John Adams, who would later became the second president of the United States, was received by the States-General (the Dutch parliament) in The Hague and recognized as minister plenipotentiary of the United States. It was also the day that the house he purchased was to become the first American embassy in the world.

The University's Ambassadors' Speakers Forum continues Nov. 2 when Bosnia and Herzegovina's ambassador to the United States, Mitar Kujundzic, comes to Grounds. Brazil's ambassador, Mauro Vieira, comes to the University on Dec. 1.