When the king and queen of the Netherlands visit the U.S. this June, they’ll be spending half of their four-day trip in Georgia.
Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima are to visit Atlanta and Savannah before heading to New York, where they will make stops in the capital, Albany, and New York City.
“The working visit underlines the strong bilateral relationship between the Netherlands and the United States and the economic relations with Georgia and New York,” the royal house said in a statement.
It’s the latest regal delegation for Georgia, where Belgium’s Princess Astrid led some 300 companies in June 2022. That visit has helped solidify the state as a well-known stepping stone for Belgian firms breaking into the United States.
The Dutch royal couple will also pay visits to their country’s investors here, highlighting how Dutch technologies can be solutions for pressing global problems. The Netherlands is known for its expertise in water management, agriculture and urban design.
Nico Wijnberg, head of protocol and international relations for the state of Georgia, has both personal and professional reasons to be excited about the visit, which officials have had to keep under wraps until Thursday’s announcement.
“It wonderful opportunity for economic relations and exciting for Georgia to be included in a working visit of this caliber, especially as it’s the second royal visit to Georgia in about as many years,” Mr. Wijnberg told Global Atlanta. “As a member of the Dutch expat community in Georgia, it is even more so meaningful to welcome His Majesty King Willem-Alexander and Her Majesty Queen Máxima to the state that has been my home.”
In a way, the destinations serve as historic bookends for the Dutch relationship with the U.S., rooted from its earliest days in trade. Dutch settlers founded a colony that would later become known as New Amsterdam (later New York) on the island of Manhattan in the…
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