King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima in Germany

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima made a two-day working visit to Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, this week.

On Monday May 26th, the King and the Queen attended the opening of the “Energy Seminar” at the Next Energy Campus of the University of Oldenburg. They were welcomed by Stephan Weil, the Prime Minister of Lower Saxony. In his speech, the King stressed the importance of energy, “Without energy, everything stops. Access to reliable, affordable and sustainable energy – now and in the future – is a top priority.”

Then the Royal Couple visited the EWE Research Institute for Sustainable Energy where they were welcomed by Professor Carsten Agert, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Institute. Professor Agert showed to the King and Queen a number of research and innovations in the field of renewable energy.

In Leer, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima visited “MARIKO – The Maritime Competence Centre”. The visited was focused about cross-border cooperation in the maritime field, education and employment. After lunch, Queen Máxima attended the launch of the “Frische ist Leben” initiative, a joint campaign with the promotion of Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium about the consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables.

In the afternoon the King and the Queen went to visit the Audi headquarters in Werlte, which was the first automobile manufacturer to open an e-gas plant last June. In this plant, Audi produces using wind and solar energy, the e-gas replace the natural gas with the help of water, green electricity and carbon dioxide.

The first day of the visit ended with a dinner at the at Schloss Wilkinghege Castle in Münster. The Prime Minister of Lower Saxony and the Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hannelore Kraft, were present.

On Tuesday May 27th, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima visited North Rhine-Westphalia. In the morning, the King and the Queen visited the Zentrum für Niederlande-Studies (Centre for Dutch Studies) of the University of Münster along with Hannelore Kraft and the Dutch Economy Minister, Henk Kamp. The visit marked the 25th anniversary of the Institute, which is involved in teaching, research and scientific service with the Netherlands, Flanders, Germany and the relationships and exchange processes between these regions.

Then the Royal Couple moved to Dortmund, where they visited the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics (IML), a research institute focused on logistics processes.
The King and the Queen attended the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Dinalog (Dutch public-private institute for logistics research) and Effizienz Cluster Logistik Ruhr (part of IML).

In Essen, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima visited the MMID Creative Industry and they got an introduction about the Dutch-German cooperation in the creative industries. The King and the Queen attended a lunch with Dutch and German representatives and entrepreneurs from the creative industries. The visit in North Rhine-Westphalia ended with the Summit of Dutch and German companies in the manufacturing industry at the Museum Schloss Moyland.

The purpose of the two-day working visit was to promote mutual trade relations and cooperation in areas like renewable energy, the creative industries, innovation, employment and education.

Filed under The Netherlands
Tagged Education, Germany, King Willem-Alexander of The Netherlands, Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, Working Visit.