April 1, 2019 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today announced that His Excellency Stef Blok, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, will visit Canada on April 3, 2019.
During the visit, the ministers will highlight our shared values and deep historical ties. The two ministers will hold bilateral talks in Ottawa focused on international peace and security, rules-based trade, human rights and gender equality.
"The ties between Canadians and the Dutch are deep and long-standing. Our shared history and values are at the core of our relationship, and I look forward to continue our work with the Netherlands in support of the rules-based international order."
- Hon. Chrystia Freeland, P.C., M.P., Minister of Foreign Affairs
Quick facts
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The Canadian Forces spearheaded the liberation of the Netherlands during the Second World War. The ties forged during the war led to significant people-to-people exchanges between our countries.
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About one million people of Dutch origin now reside in Canada, about 3% of the Canadian population.
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Prime Minister Mark Rutte visited Ottawa on October 25, 2018, becoming the first Dutch prime minister to address Canada's Parliament.
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Canada and the Netherlands work side by side in the UN, NATO, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the various international judicial institutions headquartered in The Hague.
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Canadian and Dutch women and men serve side by side in multilateral peace and security operations, including the Global Coalition against Daesh in Iraq, NATO's Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan and enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) battlegroups in Latvia and Lithuania.
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Canadian merchandise exports to the Netherlands were valued at $4.7 billion in 2018.
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Since the provisional application of Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement in September 2017, bilateral merchandise trade with the Netherlands has increased by 30.2%.
