Prime Minister Mark Rutte is scheduled to pay his first official visit to US President Barack Obama in the White House on Tuesday. Mr Rutte will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal.
The two government leaders will discuss the international debt crisis and the economic ties between the Netherlands and the United States. The situation in the Middle East and next year’s NATO summit in Chicago are also on the agenda. At the NATO summit, the alliance’s future role in Afghanistan after 2014 is to be discussed.
Mr Rutte strongly believes in maintaining close ties with the US. Last week he said that during his visit he would primarily emphasise the "excellent trans-Atlantic relations".
The government information service says the Netherlands is the third largest investor in the United States. Conversely, the Netherlands is the main recipient of direct US foreign investments and ranks ninth among the US’ export partners.
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