President Karis meets with Dutch monarch and head of government

President Alar Karis met today with His Majesty King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and Prime Minister Rob Jetten in The Hague.

"We Estonians have similar attitudes and outlooks to the Dutch," the head of state remarked. "We are like-minded in our view of the world. The Netherlands, like Estonia, is one of the staunchest supporters of Ukraine, and I thanked King Willem-Alexander for his country's contribution to the security of our region."

President Karis pointed out that all European countries are neighbours of Russia, pressure on which must be maintained in every respect. "It is important to see the creation of a tribunal for crimes of aggression through to its conclusion and to find the resources needed for this," he urged.

On his meeting with Prime Minister Jetten, the head of state said: "We discussed how to bolster Europe's security and how we could further expand our cooperation in the economic, education, AI and digital spheres. I also invited him to visit Estonia."

President Karis is visiting the Netherlands this Wednesday and Thursday with his wife Sirje Karis. Confirming the partnership between Estonia and the Netherlands, including as unwavering supporters of Ukraine, the visit is focusing on security and defence cooperation and on promoting bilateral cooperation in the fields of education and research. The head of state has been accompanied on the visit by a scientific and business delegation.

Today, President Karis will be visiting the Peace Palace in The Hague - home to the Permanent Court of Arbitration and the International Court of Justice - before giving a lecture on the state of European security and the challenges of the coming decade at Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Yesterday, the head of state met with the mayor of Utrecht, visited and met with the Estonian specialists working at the European Space Research and Technology Centre of the European Space Agency (ESA ESTEC) in Noordwijk and, in the evening, attended a get-together at the Estonian embassy with the local Estonian community and honorary consuls.

President Karis and Sirje Karis will be returning to Estonia later tonight.

Gallery (Raigo Pajula/Office of the President): https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCQhVJ