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| The Oval Office meeting, with press and officials in attendance. Photo Reuters |
Dutch king Willem-Alexander and queen
Máxima spent 30 minutes with US president Barak Obama on the first day of their
three-day American tour.
During the meeting at the White House, Obama
reportedly asked the king if the Netherlands is willing to take some of the
prisoners from Guantanamo Bay, which is being closed down. Foreign affairs
minister Bert Koenders replied on the king’s behalf that the Netherlands is
considering the idea, the NRC reports.
There is, however, a clear majority in
parliament against accepting Guantanamo, even if they are guilty of no crime.
According to the NRC, MPs feel that Guantanamo prisoners are America’s problem
and are also concerned that the Netherlands would be opening its doors to a
potential terrorist problem.
During the short visit to the White House, Obama
said he and the king discussed the ‘400 years of history between our two
countries’. ‘In Europe that does not mean a lot,’ the president said, ‘But in
the United States that is as old as it gets’.
He went on to describe the Dutch
as some of the US’s ‘oldest and most precious allies’. Obama also singled out
queen Máxima for praise for the ‘outstanding work’ she is doing with the United
Nations on inclusive financing.
Flooding
King Willem-Alexander in turn offered
his sympathy to the people of Texas and Oklahoma for the recent flooding and
offered the help of the Netherlands.
The main reason for the couple’s visit –
the first since Willem-Alexander became king – is ‘obviously to thank the
United States for what you did for our country 70 years ago’, Willem-Alexander
said.
‘We now stand shoulder to shoulder fighting ISIL – shoulder by shoulder
meaning a small shoulder and a big
shoulder,’ he said. ‘But still, we want to stand next to each other and we have
the same values we want to defend in fighting ISIL.’
Programme
Earlier in the
day, the Dutch couple laid a wreath at the Arlington ceremony and met veterans.
Their tour also takes them to Holland in Michigan, Grand Rapids and Chicago. A
visit to a baseball match scheduled for later on Monday was cancelled because
of bad weather.
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