Royal State Visit Greece

Athens eagerly awaits the state visit of the royal couple of the Netherlands on December 13-15, almost 25 years after the visit of Queen Beatrix, the last visit of a Dutch Head of State to Greece. In this regard, we have many reasons to look forward to welcoming Their Majesties to our country.

BY H.E. MR. NICOLAS P. PLEXIDAS, AMBASSADOR OF GREECE

TTo start with, the royal visit takes place during a landmark year in the modern history of Greece, celebrating in 2021 two hundred years in recent years in comparison to the first wave of Greek migrants that arrived in the Netherlands following WW II, which in its part since the beginning of the Greek Revolution (1821) against the Ottoman yoke, which led a few years later (1830) to the creation of an independent Greek state, the first such state in the Balkans and Eastern Mediterranean region.

On this occasion, Their Majesties King

Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima will be bearing a timeless message of friendship between the Dutch and Greek people, symbol also of the philhellenic movement developed in Dutch society and the intellectual circles of the 19th century, which greatly contributed to the fate of the then enslaved Greeks and their path to liberty and independence.

Beyond its symbolic nature, the royal visit will furthermore mark a new era in our already strong bilateral ties as longstanding partners in the EU and allies in NATO. It will contribute to further strengthening our economic relations at a time when a new and promising

Greece is emerging from the painful economic crisis of the past decade. The stoicism, responsibility and self-sacrifice of the Greek people in handling this crisis helped to set the country back on a steady course of dynamic development, re-establishing its credibility and boosting trust in our bilateral economic cooperation. A living link of this centuries old GreekDutch friendship is the thriving community of 35,000 Greeks residing in the Netherlands. The number of Greeks here has actually doubled contributed to Dutch economic prosperity. We are particularly proud of this new, young generation of highly qualified Greeks which have arrived in this country, which progresses in many fields, especially in business, innovation, technology, research and science, thanks to the freedom of movement in our larger European family. Last but not least, we are proud that the Dutch royal couple chose our country for its summer residence and thankful to over one million Dutch people, who visit Greece and its unique beauties every year. “Filoxenia”, a term deriving from Greek mythology means “hospitality” in Greek, and that is what we always try to extend to our visitors to reward them for choosing our country. The spirit of Xenios Zeus, God of hospitality, protector of foreigners and guests will accompany Their Majesties King WillemAlexander and Queen Máxima in their state visit to Greece, a land close to their hearts. On behalf of the Embassy and the people of Greece, welcome to our country Your Majesties!