King Willem-Alexander to visit Expo 2025 Osaka
His Majesty King Willem-Alexander will pay a visit to Japan on Wednesday 21 and Thursday 22 May during Expo 2025 Osaka. The King will be present for the Dutch National Day on 21 May, where he will give a speech. He will also visit the Netherlands Pavilion. The King will be accompanied by foreign trade and development minister Reinette Klever, who will also undertake an economic working visit with Dutch companies to Osaka and Toyko. Economic affairs minister Dirk Beljaarts will be leading a parallel trade mission focusing on high tech and digitalisation. The visit to Japan will take place in the context of 425 years of bilateral relations between the Netherlands and Japan.
The theme of this 36th World Expo is ‘Designing Future Society for Our Lives’. Expo 2025 Osaka will take place from 13 April to 13 October, giving countries and organisations an international stage to present their ideas on sustainability and innovation. The exhibition explores how we can shape the world in response to challenges that affect our quality of life, such as climate change and healthcare. These challenges extend beyond national borders and require international cooperation.
The participation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands takes the form of an entirely circular pavilion on the theme of ‘Common Ground’: bringing people together to tackle global challenges. Through interactive presentations, visitors can learn about Dutch innovations that harness the power of water. The Netherlands Pavilion will also serve as a meeting place for businesses, cultural organisations, knowledge institutions and other organisations working in promising areas such as the energy transition, agrifood, life sciences and health, digitalisation and culture. The Netherlands’ participation also reflects centuries of ties between the Netherlands and Japan dating back to 1600. Though the relationship began as a mainly economic one, today it encompasses issues ranging from security, defence and the international legal order to economic resilience and innovation.
The King will also join parts of the trade mission on Wednesday 21 May. A programme on Thursday 22 May will focus on past, current and future cooperation with Japan.
Government Information Service, no. 58