Welcome back to Diplomatic Brief, a series featuring conversations with foreign diplomats about the forces that bind — and at times divide — their countries and Brazil.
Our guest is Aldrik Gierveld, the ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Brazil since 2025. Before moving to Brasília, he served as an ambassador-at-large at the Dutch Foreign Affairs Ministry, as ambassador to Austria and permanent representative to the United Nations in Vienna, and as ambassador to Yemen.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
What are the top three issues on the agenda between Brazil and your country right now?
First I would like to say that Brazil and the Netherlands have been friends since 1826, and we’re celebrating 200 years of diplomatic ties. Looking to the future, it's all about implementing the EU-Mercosur trade agreement. It will not only bring more trade, but also more investment. The Netherlands is already a major investor in Brazil; our total stock of foreign direct investment stands at USD 100 billion, with an annual inflow on the order of USD 5 billion to 7 billion in recent years.
Second, we cooperate extensively in specialized fields like research and development, science and technology. We issue joint calls for projects — on sustainability in the Cerrado [tropical savanna biome], computing, agriculture, biodiversity, climate, energy and water. We were a great help to Rio Grande do Sul after the devastating floods of 2024, working with people there to rebuild their infrastructure.
And last, we work closely on customs, policing and the military. The Dutch Air Force bought five KC-390 aircraft from Embraer, and we recently posted a liaison officer in Gavião Peixoto, São Paulo, who works with Embraer on a day-to-day basis. We are also cooperating to fight organized crime. Remember that the Kingdom of the Netherlands has three island countries in the Caribbean. Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire are close to the coast of Venezuela, and Brazil is a neighbor there, too.
The EU-Mercosur free-trade agreement entered provisional force in May, but resistance remains strong. The Netherlands voted for the deal after withholding support for years. How do you assess the opposition that remains?
There is a lot of fear in certain economic sectors, especially in rural areas and among beef cattle farmers in particular. But the economic advantages are very clear, because both Brazil and Europe will become richer if we implement this treaty.
It will, of course, have structural effects on our economy, so let's put the facts and figures on the table. That is what the Dutch government did: it asked independent organizations to study the agreement's impact on the Dutch agricultural and food sector. All in all, the effects are limited, though certain segments of poultry and beef are affected. I hope provisional application will quickly demonstrate the treaty's advantages and ease the ratification process over the coming years.
The Netherlands and Brazil are both huge agricultural producers and exporters. How does that influence bilateral relations? Do you see opportunities for cooperation?
The trade is indeed huge. Many of the goods Brazil produces reach European markets through the Netherlands. The total flow of trade from Brazil to the Netherlands is on the order of USD 5.5 billion, and we export about USD 500 million in agricultural and food products to Brazil — roughly tenfold more from Brazil to us than from us to you.
I believe that it will only increase if the EU-Mercosur agreement is applied. There is also great potential for new forms of scientific cooperation. Brazil's poultry sector is doing so well, in part, because of scientific support from Dutch companies.
Finally, we are working closely with Brazil on the environmental agenda to optimize land use, and there is strong Brazilian interest in cooperating with us in this field — through Wageningen University, for instance.
Since 2024, Brazil and the Netherlands have had an agreement on the exchange and mutual protection of classified information, and you've mentioned the aircraft purchase. How has cooperation in defense and intelligence developed in recent years?
It's a clear sign of a high level of trust, because you don't do this with everyone. It's in our interest because we want those Embraer aircraft. The Netherlands is a NATO partner, and together with Portugal, we were the first launch customers in the NATO area. We also do a lot of joint training. The Dutch contract became the basis for deals with other EU and NATO countries, such as Austria and Sweden.
There is also strong interest on the Brazilian side in selling more ammunition — there's potential there as well. And we have research and technology organizations, like TNO, that are interested in working with you in the security sector.
What is the biggest misconception that Brazilians have about your country that you would like to clarify?
Some people look at the map and think the Netherlands is a small country. In square kilometers, that may be true — we're about the size of the state of Rio de Janeiro. But we are not small in economic terms. Our GDP is 1.3 trillion euros, half of Brazil's, but we produce that with 18.5 million people. And if you take the Benelux countries — Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands — together, that's a bigger economy than Russia.
So the misconception is that we're sometimes overlooked. The Netherlands' political and economic influence is considerable. In the European Union, we are always involved in finding the final compromises. We are not only a gateway for goods but also, in many respects, a gateway to the political conversation with Europe.
What surprised you the most about Brazil when you first arrived?
Brazil is a great country in every respect. What strikes me is the social inequality. Of course, I knew about the favelas and poverty, but the stark contrast between those who are truly rich and those who are truly poor struck me. I hope Brazil can narrow that gap, because more social inclusion leads to higher economic growth.
