WORKING VISIT OF THE PRIME MINISTER OF THE NETHERLANDS, THE HONOURABLE MARK RUTTE TO MALAYSIA 31 OCTOBER – 1 NOVEMBER 2023
WORKING VISIT OF THE PRIME MINISTER OF THE NETHERLANDS,
THE HONOURABLE MARK RUTTE TO MALAYSIA
31 OCTOBER – 1 NOVEMBER 2023
Prime Minister of the Netherlands, The Honourable Mark Rutte will undertake a Working Visit to Malaysia from 31 October 2023 to 1 November 2023. This marks his second visit to Malaysia following the first visit held in 2014. The Honourable Mark Rutte will be accompanied by the Vice Minister for Foreign Trade, senior government officials, and business delegation.
During the visit, The Honourable Mark Rutte is slated to hold a meeting with the Prime Minister of Malaysia, YAB Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, on 1 November 2023. Both leaders are expected to take stock of the progress of bilateral relations, especially cooperation in trade, investment, cultural exchange, palm oil, agriculture, agricommodity, and addressing the issue of Islamophobia, as well as exploring new areas of potential cooperation. During this engagement, both leaders are also expected to exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual concern. The meeting will be followed by a luncheon hosted by YAB Prime Minister in honour of The Honourable Mark Rutte.
In addition, The Honourable Mark Rutte is also scheduled to meet with the Deputy Prime Minister cum Minister of Plantation and Commodities, YAB Dato’ Sri Haji Fadillah Bin Haji Yusof and participate in a palm tree planting event symbolising the excellent cooperation between the two countries in the palm oil sector.
The Honourable Mark Rutte is also scheduled to deliver a keynote address and join a dialogue session with the Minister of the Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change, YB Tuan Nik Nazmi bin Nik Ahmad, at the 6th Malaysia – the Netherlands Water Dialogue. The Water Dialogue is an annual event, co-organised by the Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change (NRECC) and the Embassy of the Netherlands in Kuala Lumpur, which serves as a platform for experts to address various water-related issues.
In 2022, the Netherlands was Malaysia’s 14th largest trading partner globally and the 2nd largest among the European Union's (EU) Member States, with total trade amounting to RM48.04 billion (USD10.93 billion); an increase of 33.4 percent, compared to RM36.01 billion (USD8.68 billion) in 2021. Moreover, in 2022, the Netherlands was also the largest palm oil importer among the EU countries, with the volume amounted to 732,324.54 tonnes. It is with great anticipation that the Netherlands will continue to increase its palm oil imports from Malaysia and support Malaysia's endeavours in promoting sustainable palm oil production, and in scrapping negative allegations against palm oil. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is confident that this visit will further strengthen the established good relations between both countries.
PUTRAJAYA
31 October 2023
