(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will on Wednesday, 18 January 2012, leave for a working visit to the Netherlands (Amsterdam and the Hague).

 

During his visit, Prime Minister Netanyahu will meet with Queen Beatrix, Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Verhagen, Defense Minister Hans Hillen, Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal, House of Representatives Chairperson Gerdi Verbeet, Senate Chairperson Fred de Graaf and members of the parliamentary foreign affairs and defense committees. The Prime Minister will also visit the Portuguese synagogue in Amsterdam, which was built by Spanish and Portuguese exiles in 1675 and which has been carefully preserved for 337 years. He will award a Bible as a mark of appreciation to Dutch Righteous Among the Nations Prof. Johan Van Hulst.

 

The goal of the visit is to strengthen bilateral ties and advance cooperation in various fields. On the agenda will be the establishment of an inter-governmental cooperation council, the first meeting of which will be held in the coming months. The goal of the council is to promote bilateral defense and foreign affairs cooperation and to increase economic cooperation, especially regarding the private sector, student exchanges, agro-technology development, the environment, research and development, and tourism.