Netherlands King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima to arrive in India today for state visit

New Delhi, Oct 12: Netherlands King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima will arrive in national capital on Sunday for a five-day visit during which they will hold meetings with the top Indian leadership to boost bilateral economic and political cooperation.

King Willem-Alexander's trip would be his first state visit to India, following his ascension to the throne in 2013. King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima will arrive here on Sunday night for the visit at the invitation of President Ram Nath Kovind, according to the Ministry of External Affairs.

The King and Queen will visit New Delhi, Mumbai, and Kerala during their visit. On Monday, the Dutch royals will meet President Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while External Affairs Minister S Jasihankar will call on them.

The King and Queen will be accompanied on their visit by a senior ministerial delegation. After the official programme in Delhi, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima will also visit Mumbai from Wednesday and reach Kerala on Thursday. The royal couple will head home on Friday. India and the Netherlands have a bilateral trade turnover of USD 12.87 billion (2018-2019).

The Netherlands is the fifth largest investor in India with a cumulative investment of USD 23 billion for the period 2000 to Dec 2017, the MEA said. The Dutch Royal couple will also attend the Inaugural Session of 25th Technology Summit in New Delhi on Tuesday. The Netherlands is the partner country for this Summit.

The Royal couple would be accompanied by about 140 business houses for this technology and innovation fair, representing various sectors, including agriculture, water, health-care and climate change. The visit is expected to boost economic and political cooperation between India and the Netherlands, the MEA said.