The Netherlands’ King and Queen will attend a seminar on the Indo-Dutch bilateral relations here later this month, which will be a curtain raiser for their state visit to New Delhi next month, a top Indian official has said. King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima will attend the seminar ‘India and the Netherlands – Past, Present and Future’ which will be held at the prestigious Rijksmuseum (National Museum) Amsterdam on September 30. The event, during which a book titled ‘India and the Netherlands: Past, Present and Future’ authored by India’s Ambassador to the Netherlands Venu Rajamony will be released, is jointly organised by the Royal Asian Art Society in the Netherlands and the Embassy of India. The king will receive the first copy of the book which is an encyclopaedia of the cross-cultural legacy between India and the Netherlands, Rajamony said. The seminar is a curtain raiser to the upcoming State Visit of the Dutch royals to India, he said. It will feature talks on various aspects of history, culture and business relations between India and the Netherlands, he added. According to the Royal House of The Netherlands, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima will pay a state visit to India at the invitation of President Ram Nath Kovind from October 14 to 18. The King and Queen will visit the cities of New Delhi, Mumbai, and Kerala. The book written by Rajamony highlights the significant place India occupies in the Dutch world view and the relationship between the two nations secured by strong economic ties and vibrant exchanges in the fields of culture, sports and yoga. It presents vivid snapshots on relations between the two nations over the centuries. It also brings to life the compelling personalities whose contributions shaped the Indo-Dutch discourse and also skilfully strings together nuggets of little-known information. According to the book, India and the Netherlands, above all, share a cultural and intellectual resilience which has outlasted the challenges of change. It also emphasises the bilateral strength of present-day ties, and the infinite mutual potential that the future holds for India and the Netherlands
