King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima On Working Visit to New York

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima spent three days in New York from September 27 to 29 on a working visit at the United Nations.

The Royal Couple was accompanied by Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Bert Koenders, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Lilianne Ploumen, Minister of the Environment Wilma Mansveld, the Mayor of Rotterdam Ahmed Aboutaleb, and the Prime Minister of Aruba, Mike Emen.

On Sunday, her first day in New York, the Queen held a speech at the UN’s summit about climate change, “Protecting Our Planet and Combatting Climate Change”. In her speech the Queen said that it’s important to protect the most vulnerable people affected by the effects of climate change and she added that access to financial services, credits, insurance and savings are the right tools.

Then Queen Máxima had meetings with Melinda Gates and Enrique Peña Nieto, the President of Mexico.

On September 28, King Willem-Alexander held a speech at the seventieth anniversary of the UN General Assembly. It was the first time that a Dutch Head of State addressed the UN General Assembly.

He congratulated the United Nations for its seventy years of activity and he praised the organization for its work. He defined the UN “as a legitimate platform for international dialogue. Where countries can always come together, no matter how great their differences.” The Kingdom of the Netherlands is candidate for a seat on the UN Security Council for the 2017 to 2018 term. Queen Máxima was present at the General Assembly.

The King addresses the United Nations General Assembly

In the afternoon the King attended a meeting organized by the Netherlands about preserving the oceans “Implementing the Samoa Pathway and SDG 14 by SIDS through Public-Private Partnerships”. In his specch the King talked about the commitment of his country in the fields of sustainable development, climate change and food security.

Their final day was Tuesday, where King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima had meetings with Mogens Lykketoft, the President of the 70th session of the UN General Assembly, and the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. As Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development, during the meeting with the UN Secretary-General, the Queen presented the the sixth UNSGSA annual report about the activity of the past year.

King Willem-Alexander, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, and Queen Maxima

Later King Willem-Alexander attended a meeting organized by the Netherlands on the importance of the International Court of Justice which is based in The Hague. In his speech the King said that: “The Hague is the place where global peace, justice and security are defended by the International Court of Justice and many other international organisations such as the Permanent Court of Arbitration, established in The Hague in 1899, more than 100 years ago.”

The last event of the working visit to New York was a meeting attended by Queen Máxima organized by the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth: “Innovative Solutions: Youth Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Development”. The Queen, in her speech, stressed the importance to educate and empower young people to become entrepreneurs and the importance of access to capital for young entrepreneurs.

Filed under The Netherlands
Tagged Ban Ki-Moon, Climate Change, Environment, Inclusive Finance, King Willem-Alexander of The Netherlands, Patronage, President Peña Nieto of Mexico, Prime Minister Rutte of the Netherlands, Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, United Nations, United States of America, Working Visit.