Dutch FM to address UN on ISIS, lobby for security council seat

Minister Bert Koenders of Foreign Affairs will be visiting the United Nations in New York on Monday and Tuesday. During his visit he will give a speech about Syria and the fight against ISIS. He will also speak about the Netherlands' ambition to become a temporary member of the UN Security council from 2017 to 2018, the elections for membership are in June. 

"We want to take our international responsibilities and in this way make a meaningful contribution to a world that is safer, fairer and more prosperous.", Koenders said about the seat in the UN Security Council. King Willem-Alexander also addressed the UN on this matter in September. 

On Tuesday Koenders will meet with Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to discuss a number of urgent problems currently facing the world, including the refugee crisis and terrorism. "Migration and international security are priorities of the Dutch EU presidency. It's good to also look with other international bodies for ways to reinforce each other's efforts on these urgent issues", according to the Minister.

Koenders will participate in a meeting on the fight against terrorism, where he will talk about the results of a recent anti-terrorism summit in The Hague. He will urge participants to implement agreements reached in the summit, among others about sharing information, as quickly as possible.