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King, Queen and Prime Minister attending 70th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York

News item | 08-09-2015 | 11:25

King Willem-Alexander, Queen Máxima and Prime Minister Mark Rutte are to attend the 70th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York. As leader of the delegation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the King will address the General Assembly at the opening of the General Debate on Monday 28 September, becoming the first Dutch head of state ever to do so. On the eve of the election of non-permanent members of the UN Security Council, for which the Netherlands is a candidate, the Netherlands will thus impress on the 70th Session of the General Assembly the high regard in which it holds the UN. 

Enlarge image King Willem-Alexander addresses the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York at the opening of the General Debate
Image: ©ANP / Robin Utrecht
King Willem-Alexander addresses the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York at the opening of the General Debate

Minister of Foreign Affairs Bert Koenders, Prime Minister Mike Eman of Aruba, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Lilianne Ploumen, Minister for the Environment Wilma Mansveld and the Mayor of Rotterdam, Ahmed Aboutaleb have all announced that they will be attending the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly.

In his address, the King will discuss the significance of the United Nations, and the contribution the Kingdom of the Netherlands has made in the fields of peace, justice and development.

Queen Máxima is also attending in her role as the UN Secretary-General's Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development. She will present the annual report on her UN activities to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

On Saturday 26 September, Prime Minister Mark Rutte will deliver a speech at the Sustainable Development Summit, when the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will be launched. These Goals build on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which expire this year.
The aim of the SDGs is to widen the scope of the MDGs by incorporating subjects such as sustainability, inequality and peace into an agenda applicable to every country. The chief ambition is the eradication throughout the world of extreme poverty by 2030. Queen Máxima and Ms Ploumen will also be attending the summit. In the past few years, Ms Ploumen has led both Dutch implementation of the MDGs and the Netherlands' contribution to the drafting of the new SDGs.

In the margins of the UN General Assembly, President Barack Obama will hold a world leader summit on UN peacekeeping which Prime Minister Mark Rutte will address. On 26 September, Foreign Affairs Minister Bert Koenders will become co-chair of the Global Counterterrorism Forum.
The programme for the Kingdom delegation is filled with numerous events, talks and bilateral meetings.

The Kingdom aspires to non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council (2017 to 2018). This aspiration is in line with the Kingdom's international ambitions and commitment and the position of The Hague as the world's legal capital. As a non-permanent member of the Security Council, the Kingdom will have a voice in decisions on, for example, the mandates of UN peacekeeping missions and protection of people in areas in conflict.

RVD, no. 288

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