Media Statement
16 October 2023
President Ramaphosa to host Their Majesties King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of Netherlands on a State Visit
President Cyril Ramaphosa will host Their Majesties King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Kingdom of the Netherlands on a State Visit.
The State Visit by King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima to South Africa will take place from 18 to 20 October 2023. This will be the second visit of a Dutch monarch since Queen Beatrix visited South Africa at the invitation of President Nelson Mandela in 1996.
President Ramaphosa will officially welcome their Majesties at a Welcome Ceremony on Thursday, 19 October 2023, at the Union Buildings in Pretoria. Following the Welcome Ceremony, President Ramaphosa and King Willem-Alexander will lead their respective delegations in official talks.
The King will be accompanied by a delegation including the Minister of Foreign Affairs; the Minister of Defence; the Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality; as well as the Minister of Education, Culture and Science. The delegation will also include a business component of about 100 people, as well as the Presidents of 25 universities and academic institutions of the Netherlands.
It is further envisaged that a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Fields of Higher, Technical and Vocational Education, will be signed on the margins of the visit.
The Netherlands is a major investor in the South African economy and one of South Africa’s significant trading partners. Total trade doubled between 2019 and 2022 when it reached R122 billion.
The Netherlands is also the fourth largest source of overseas tourists to South Africa, even though the numbers declined significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019, the last year before the pandemic, South Africa received 144,071 Dutch tourists, but the number declined to only 21,755 in 2021, before recovering to 90,289 in 2022.
The visit by Their Majesties the King and Queen not only illustrates the importance of the bilateral relationship between the two countries but will accelerate cooperation in areas that bring benefits to the peoples of both countries.
MEDIA PROGRAMME – INCOMING KINGDOM OF NETHERLANDS STATE VISIT
Date: Thursday, 19 October 2023
Arrival of media and issuing of Media Accreditation
Time: 08h00 – 09h00
Venue: Government Avenue Entrance, Union Buildings
Welcome Ceremony
Time: 10h00
Venue: Nelson Mandela Amphitheatre, Union Buildings
South Africa – Netherlands Official Talks
Time: 11h00
Venue: Union Buildings
Official Talks Report Back
Time: 12h30
Venue: Courtyard, Union Buildings
Media enquiries: Vincent Magwenya, Spokesperson to the President – media@presidency.gov.za
Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria