President heads to The Hague

President Nikos Christodoulides will travel to The Hague for an official visit on Wednesday.

Government spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis said the president will depart on Wednesday morning for The Hague, where he will hold meetings with the country’s top leadership, following the invitation of Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte.

Christodoulides will be received by the King of the Netherlands Willem-Alexander at the Palace in The Hague at 5.30pm.

“During the audience with the King, discussions will include issues related to bilateral relations and particularly matters concerning the exchange of experiences regarding water resource management, a topic of particular interest to the King himself, the future of Europe in view of the upcoming European elections, as well as the current situation in Cyprus,” Letymbiotis said.

After meeting the King, Christodoulides will head to the official residence of PM Rutte, with whom he will discuss matters related to the European agenda, the situation in the Middle East and Ukraine, migration, as well as Cyprus-Netherlands bilateral relations.

“Christodoulides will also brief Rutte on developments in Cyprus and the efforts made by our side to resume negotiations from where they were left off in Crans Montana, based on the agreed framework, in light of the new effort being made following the appointment of the UN Secretary-General’s special envoy [Maria Holguin],” Letymbiotis said.

“The Cyprus-Netherlands bilateral relations are at a very high level, with the two countries maintaining a large number of bilateral agreements and cooperation in various sectors such as defence and security, tourism, and investments.”

Letymbiotis reminded that an agreement to avoid double taxation recently entered into force.

“This is something that will further enhance cooperation between the two countries in the field of economy and investments,” he said.

Christodoulides, who will return to Cyprus on Thursday, will be accompanied to The Hague by Letymbiotis, as well as the Minister of European Affairs Marilena Raouna and other senior officials.