President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to host the King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Kingdom of Netherlands who are coming to South Africa for a state visit this week.
According to the Presidency,the state visit by King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima 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 host the Majesties at a Welcome Ceremony on Thursday,19 October 2023,at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
The Royal Family of the Kingdom of Netherlands will be accompanied by some of the Dutch cabinet ministers,and business delegation.
The Presidency said 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.
During the state visit of the delegation from the Dutch kingdom,it is expected that the two countries reach new agreements that will help to strengthen the relations between them.
"It is further envisaged that a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Fields of Higher,Technical and Vocational Education,will be signed 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,"the Presidency concluded.
People must not forget that South Africa is one of those countries that have a huge number of Dutch descendants outside of Europe.
South Africa is the home of millions of Afrikaners who have played the pivotal role on the existence of this beautiful country,and Afrikaners are descendants of Jan van Riebeck who greeted the shores of the Cape in 1652.