State visit by President of Argentina - program
President Mauricio Macri of the Argentine Republic will pay a state visit to the Netherlands on Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 March 2017. He will be accompanied by his wife, Juliana Awada (see Government Information Service press release no. 270).
The Netherlands and Argentina work closely together on numerous international political issues and act in concert on multilateral themes such as the promotion of the international legal order and sustainable economic development. Argentina has the world's 21st-largest economy. The Netherlands is one of the country's principal investors and is a key trading partner. Argentina is a G20 member and will chair the forum in 2018. Its recently reaffirmed international orientation is creating opportunities for mutual trade and investment, especially in water management, agriculture and logistics. Partnership agreements between Dutch and Argentinian companies and institutions will be signed during President Macri's visit. Sport and social dialogue will also be themes of the president's time in the Netherlands.
Argentinian foreign minister Susana Malcorra, other members of the Argentinian government and representatives of the country's business communities will accompany President Macri. Members of the Dutch government will take part in various parts of the state visit.
Monday 27 March
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima will officially welcome President Macri and his wife on Dam Square in Amsterdam. After the inspection of the guard of honour, a reception will take place in the Royal Palace in Amsterdam with Dutch authorities and Argentinian dignitaries taking part in the visit. After the reception President Macri will lay a wreath at the National Monument on Dam Square.
He will then visit the Anne Frank House, which works with Argentina's Centro Ana Frank in Buenos Aires to help educate young people about combating discrimination and violence.
On Monday afternoon President Macri and Ms Awada will join King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima in attending part of the Business Forum, which will be held that day in the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam. Dutch and Argentinian Business Forum participants from the public and private sectors will be discussing ways of promoting economic cooperation. There will for example be various panel discussions on agriculture, water management, logistics and energy, as well as a meeting focusing on social dialogue, good governance and the Dutch 'polder model'. President Macri, Ms Awada and Their Majesties will take part in a roundtable meeting of CEOs.
Late Monday afternoon an event in the Beurs van Berlage will be devoted to the positive social effects of sport. The Dutch national hockey and football associations will show how their two sports can contribute to teamwork, knowledge exchange and social development. At a clinic for young Argentinian and Dutch hockey players, trainers will give demonstrations and the Johan Cruyff Foundation and One Million Hockey Legs will make a presentation of their activities for President Macri.
The visit's first day will end with a state banquet in the Royal Palace in Amsterdam.
Tuesday 28 March
The second day of the state visit will begin with calls by President Macri on the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague. President Macri will then have talks with the Presidents of the Senate and House of Representatives of the States General. Following those talks, Prime Minister Mark Rutte will meet with the president.
Meanwhile that morning, Queen Máxima and Ms Awada will be visiting the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague. They will be given a guided tour of Dutch masters of the 17th-century Golden Age, including works by Vermeer, Rembrandt and Paulus Potter.
King Willem-Alexander, Queen Máxima and Ms Awada will then join Prime Minister Rutte and President Macri for lunch in the Trêves Hall at the Binnenhof, with social dialogue as the theme of the lunch.
Tuesday afternoon President Macri and his wife and Queen Máxima will visit the Port of Rotterdam. Rotterdam Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb will welcome them to Berghaven port in Rotterdam's Hook of Holland district. During a boat trip through the Port of Rotterdam, experts and representatives of the business community will describe the various terminals and explain the new integrated logistics solutions provided by the port's Maasvlakte terminals.
The state visit will end with a ballet performance presented by President Macri at Theatre Diligentia in The Hague.
