It was a meeting of two mayors at Mumbai's Mayor's Bungalow at Shivaji Park on Wednesday morning. Mayor Shraddha Jadhav met the Mayor of Rotterdam, Ahmed Aboutaleb (The Netherlands second largest city after Amsterdam), as a first step towards what the Mayor of Rotterdam called, "building trust".

Both mayors were meeting towards signing a Letter of Intent (LOI) that promises greater co-operation in several fields for both cities.


Marijke A van Drunen Littel, Consul General of The Netherlands, A Aboutaleb and Shraddha Jadhav

Several points are supposed to be covered in the LOI like urban development, including waterfront development, low cost housing, preservation of historic buildings and in the field of logistics for ports and shipping. There was also renewable energy, which was covered. Economic and scientific co-operation was mentioned.

Aboutaleb claimed that there has to be an element of trust and meetings prior to signing of the LOI were, "first steps in getting to know each other."

Speaking about Rotterdam's green efforts, he said that there were new approaches to water management in Rotterdam, new ways being looked at for preventing flooding and people were exploring different sources of making energy like from the heat emanating from factory pipes in the Dutch city.

Yet, it was when Aboutaleb touched upon culture that it was sit-up-and-take-close-notice time. He spoke about the large Hindu Community in Rotterdam, and then stated in conversation, "I was not born in The Netherlands, I was born in Africa."

As the meeting ended and Aboutaleb exited the magnificent Shivaji Park building, he smiled as he said to this reporter and photographers, "Do a Google check. There are lots of pictures of me on the Google search."

The Google threw up much more than pictures.u00a0 It gave a slew of reports about how Aboutaleb was actually one symbol of immigrant success in Europe. Morocco-born Ahmed Aboutaleb is the first Muslim immigrant to lead a major Dutch city. He was appointed in 2009.

Given the journalistic penchant for slotting people into catchy phrases, reporters compared his achievement to that of US President Barack Obama dubbing Aboutaleb, 'Obama on the Maas' (Maas means river), though some reactions stated that was, "stretching it a bit too far."

Rotterdam, has the largest immigrant community in The Netherlands. Tensions were simmering a couple of years ago,u00a0 after the murder of Theo Van Gogh, by an extremist. Gogh, a filmmaker,u00a0 had made a film called Submission which was critical of the treatment of women in Islam.

Rotterdam was also the power base of a controversial politician, Pim Fortuyn. Fortuyn, an out of the closet homosexual had also criticised Islam.

Fortuyn was murdered by a man called Volkert van der Graaf, who claimed in court he had killed Fortuyn to stop him from exploiting weak members of society in seeking political power.u00a0

Then, there is Dutch politician Geert Wilders, yet another flamboyant Dutch politician, who reports stated has criticised Aboutaleb in the recent past.

Though this political mosaic may not be immediately relevant to Aboutaleb's Mumbai visit, it is glimpse of au00a0 man on whose broad shoulders lies the onus of doing a tricky juggling act, in a country which is battling to strike a balance between immigration and integration.

About Rotterdam
Rotterdam is a city in the Dutch province of South Holland, situated to the west of The Netherlands. The port of Rotterdam is the largest in Europe. From 1962 to 2004, it was the world's busiest port until surpassed by Shanghai. Rotterdam is on the banks of the river Nieuwe Maas, one of the channels in the delta formed by the Rhine and Meuse rivers. The name Rotterdam derives its name from a dam in the Rotte river. In The Netherlands, Rotterdam has the highest percentage of foreigners from non-industrialised nations. Nearly 50 per cent of the population are not native to The Netherlands, or have at least one parent born outside the country.

Is Europe shutting the doors?
Do Western countries think that they have been too generous, too accepting and maybe even too spineless when it comes to protecting what they term, a Western way of life and liberal values? Tighter immigration policies, the need to integrate and laws banning face coverings -- besides some straight speaking by politicians gives an indication of how many in Europe thinks its famed tolerance has gone a bit too far and is diluting some cherished values. These are messages couched in political correctness, but they do address fears and talk about the need for people to integrate fully into Western society.u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0