On Sunday, the Dutch royal trio – Queen Beatrix, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Maxima – began their two day state visit to the United Arab Emirates. They arrived the previous night, but began their agenda Sunday.
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The royals were greeted at the Mushrif Palace in Abu Dhabi by Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the UAE. There was a 21 gun salute in honor of the Queen, her son and daughter in law.
An exchange of honors took place between the Sheikh and Her Majesty. His Highness the Sheikh gave Beatrix the Order of Zayed, one of the United Arab Emirates’ highest civil decorations given to kings and heads of state. In return the Queen gave him one of the Netherlands’ highest orders.
Also on Sunday, the Dutch royals toured the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. The Queen donned a long black dress and wore a blue scarf over her hat while Princess Maxima wore a caftan and a headscarf. This caused a bit of a uproar back in the Netherlands.
“Not to have worn one during a visit to a mosque wasn’t an option. In that case, the invitation to visit to the mosque, one of the most important in the United Arab Emirates, would have to have been refused,” explained Foreign Minister Ufi Rosenthal.
However, the Freedom Party (PVV) led by Geert Wilders, complained that Beatrix was legitimizing Islam’s oppression of women. In response, Green Left MP Tofik Dibi, called Wilders’ comments a waste of time.
For Monday, the royals the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and met with officials and senior managements of companies that specialize in oil and petroleum. Since the Netherlands have their own oil industry – Shell – this was an obvious part of their agenda.
The Dutch trio then went to Masdar, where they met with Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, UAE Minister of Foreign Trade, for a round table discussion on tightening Dutch-UAE relations.
“This meeting builds on an historic relationship,” said the Sheikha. “Trade was always considered the most important factor for relations between the Netherlands and the UAE, and these ties continue to become stronger today. In fact, most people would be surprised to know that the Netherlands’ ties with the Arab world date back more than three centuries.”
That concluded the Dutch state visit to the UAE. Tuesday will see the same trio go to Oman for another state visit.
This visit was historic for Queen Beatrix. This was her 50th state visit since her ascension to the throne in 1980.
Sources: Khaleej Times, Radio Netherlands, WAM, Dutch News
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