Dutch State Visit to Brunei: January 21-22

At the invitation of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan, Queen Beatrix started on January 21 a two-day state visit to Brunei, along with the Prince of Orange and Princess Máxima.

On Monday, upon their arrival at the airport, the Dutch Royals and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade were welcomed by Crown Prince Billah and Crown Princess Sarah. The Queen and the Crown Prince Couple moved to the Istana Nurul Iman Royal Palace, where they were welcomed by the Sultan, Hassanal Bolkiah, and his wife Saleha. At the welcoming ceremony, the national anthems were played and a 21-gun salute was issued.

After an audience with the Sultan, Queen Beatrix with the Prince and the Princess went to the Brunei Museum to visit the exhibition “Brunei English & Collections on Borneo Cultures 1870-1940”. Were present Brunei Ministers, Crown Prince Billah and Crown Princess Sarah. It was signed a memorandum of understanding between the Department of Museums, Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports and Tropenmuseum, an anthropological museum located in Amsterdam that is owned and operated by the Royal Tropical Institute.

Later in the afternoon, the Queen and the Crown Prince Couple did a boat trip on the Brunei River to visit the Kampong Ayer (Water Village), an area of Brunei’s capital city Bandar Seri Begawan. The village is entirely built of stilt houses and wooden walkways. The first day of the visit ended with a state banquet at Istana Nurul Iman, where the Queen and the Sultan gave speeches.

The second and last day of the visit, January 22, started with a visit to the Brunei Shell headquarters in Seria. The Queen and the Crown Prince Couple signed the visitors book. The Dutch Royals were accompanied by Crown Prince Billah and Crown Princess Sarah for the visit. Queen Beatrix was greeted by 150 children from Panaga School who waved mini Brunei and Dutch flags.

At conclusion of the visit to the Shell headquarters, Queen Beatrix, Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Máxima took an helicopter ride to do a 50-minute aerial tour of the Heart of Borneo. At lunch, the royal party went to the Empire Hotel Country Club, where they had meetings with businesses in the presence of the Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade, Lilianne Ploumen.

In the afternoon the Queen, along with the Crown Prince Couple, met the Dutch community at the Royal Brunei Polo and Riding Club. In the evening Queen Beatrix hosted a concert of the “Calefax Reed Quintet” at The Empire Theatre as conclusion of the state visit.

Filed under Brunei, The Netherlands
Tagged Crown Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah of Brunei, Crown Princess Sarah of Brunei, Exhibition, King Willem-Alexander of The Netherlands, Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands, Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, Queen Saleha of Brunei, State Visit, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei.

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