Dr. H.G. van Buren - one of the founders of economic relations between Russia and The Netherlands is laureate of RUS Prix 2004 in nomination "Long-term activity and great personal contribution into development of the relations between Russia and the Netherlands"
Hendrik van Buren became director of the Netherlands - USSR Institute in 1966. This was an n.g.o. with the aim to strengthen economic relations between The Netherlands and the Soviet Union. Main task was to support the SME-sector. Van Buren used the opportunity however in the first place to build co-operation on the level of the Dutch biggest enterprises. He organized delegations for these companies together with the Statecommittee for Science and Technology. Amongst these companies were Shell and Unilever. He even personally accompanied AKZO, Naarden Chemicals and Stork to Moscow.
In 1973 he switched to Peja, the trading-house in the Netherlands for trade with countries with a centralized economy. Pretty soon he became member of the management-team. In 1974 he became accredited in Moscow, what continued till 1992. In the seventies and eighties Van Buren was the only economist in this trade. For this reason he was regularly requested to give comments on the starting reforms in the USSR on radio, TV and in the press. Also by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs he was requested to give his view on possibilities.
At the end of the seventies he was asked to become board-member of the Netherlands - USSR Institute, the organization where he started his career. In 1986 he was elected chairman of this organization. Also he was elected chairman of the Council for Eastern-Europe. The task of this council was to bring a better co-ordination between the work of the government and that of private enterprise with respect to the various countries in Eastern Europe.
On international level he became the chairman of the Dutch section of the Vienna Council, which tried to bring more co-operation between West and East.
End 1992 Van Buren became the managing director of the Netherlands Council for Trade Promotion. Also here he tried to be the champion of closer ties with Russia. He personally contributed to the Europartenariat, which was organized in Moscow. In 2001 he retired.
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