Dutch Official Visit to the United States of America, Day 1

Their Majesties King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima started today, Monday June 1st, a three-day Official Visit to the United States of America.

Upon their arrival in the States, the Royal Couple attended on Sunday May 31 in the evening, a reception at the Dutch Ambassador’s residence in Washington held by the Dutch Ambassador Rudolf Bekink.

This morning the visit began at the Arlington National Cemetery in Washington. The Royal Couple laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and met with American veterans who fought in The Netherlands during the Second World War.

Later the King and Queen went to the White House, where, in the Oval Office, they were welcomed by Barack Obama, the President of the United States of America. The President, who praised the work of Queen Maxima at the United Nations, talked about the Dutch Royals as his ‘wonderful friends’ and he also thanked them for the hospitality during the Nuclear Security Summit last year in The Netherlands. At the meeting was also present Bert Koenders, the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs. President Obama also stated that The Netherlands is the oldest US ally. More topics of the meeting were the fight against ebola and the crash of flight MH17.

Afterwards, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima went to the National Building Museum. At their arrival they were greeted by the executive director of the Museum, Chase Rynd, and then they visited the Global City Teams Challenge Expo and attended a demonstration about innovative and sustainable applications in urban renewal and a seminar.

In early afternoon the Royal Couple went to the World Bank. The World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim and the Executive Director Frank Heemskerk, greeted them upon their arrival. At the World Bank the King and the Queen met the Dutch employees and then, along with Prime Ministers of Curaçao, Sint-Maarten and Aruba, attende a roundtable about sustainable development and best practices of the Caribbean small islands.

Then the Royal Couple visited Capitol Hill, the house of the United States Congress. They were welcomed by Paul Irving, the Sergeant at Arms of the United States House of Representatives and had a meeting with political leaders of the House and Senate.

Filed under The Netherlands
Tagged Ambassador, Bilateral Relations, King Willem-Alexander of The Netherlands, Memorial, Official Visit, President Obama of the United States, Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, United States of America.

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