King of the Netherlands Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima have said that India and the Netherlands will continue their centuries-old cooperation for mutual benefit.
The royal couple who arrived here on a special flight on Thursday noon from Mumbai travelled by road to the Dutch Palace at Mattancherry where Minister for Ports, Museums and Archaeology Kadannapally Ramachandran and Mayor Soumini Jain received them. The visiting dignitaries viewed the reception, coronation hall, bedroom of the erstwhile kings and the palanquin of the palace. The king appreciated the workmanship that went into the construction of the palace and art works. Later, the couple participated in a seminar on ‘India and the Netherlands - Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow’, organised at the palace.
They also viewed a documentary on the Dutch influence on Kerala.
The King then went on to unveil the map of Kerala, which was readied at the Dutch Gallery at the museum by the Netherlands National Archives as part of the royal visit.
The occasion also saw India and the Netherlands ink an agreement on exchanging copies of archived documents in the presence of the royal couple.
The royals visited Kochi as part of their two-day visit to Kerala. They were accompanied by Dutch Minister for Foreign Affairs Stef Blol.
Earlier, they were accorded a traditional reception at the international airport at Nedumbassery by Kathakali artistes and those representing other art forms. Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, Minister for Education C. Ravindranath, Chief Secretary Tom Jose, State Police Chief Loknath Behera, District Collector S. Suhas, and District Police Chief (Ernakulam Rural) K. Karthik were present.
In the evening, they met Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Mr. Vijayan spoke of the Dutch seafarers setting foot in Kerala and forming an alliance with the Zamorin of Calicut in the 17th century. “The Dutch also introduced their own modes of agriculture, brought new seeds and new methods of medical treatment,” the Chief Minister said.
