Dutch King concerned about global issues; Dutch PM wants more active role in Middle East

During a dinner with the Diplomatic Corps in Amsterdam, King Willem-Alexander voiced concern about global developments, highlighting ongoing violence and instability in regions such as Ukraine, the Middle East, and Sudan. Prime Minister Rob Jetten also discussed the wars, saying that Europe is playing too limited a role in Middle Eastern conflicts.

“There is a great deal, really a great deal, that urgently needs attention,” he said. The King added that many people are “carrying a heavy burden” and that millions around the world do not live in safety.

The King stressed the need for international cooperation, saying the path ahead depends on working together. He cautioned that conflicts are increasingly crossing borders and eroding trust around the world.

He also emphasized the role of diplomats. “Solutions often begin with you,” he told those present. “Your work is discreet and often invisible, but its impact can be great.”

The Diplomatic Corps is made up of foreign diplomats based in the Netherlands. Each year, the King hosts them to underline the value of diplomacy and international collaboration.

Jetten was speaking ahead of the second day of an informal EU summit in Cyprus. EU leaders are also set to meet later with representatives from the Gulf region, Lebanon, and Syria.

“We see that the Americans, the Israelis, and other countries in the Middle East are at odds with each other, and Europe is actually far too weak to make a real fist,” Jetten said. “When the Iran war started, it took a long time before Europe spoke with one voice.”

“That is why the Netherlands, together with a few other countries, also supports abolishing vetoes, so that Europe can act much faster and more decisively on the international stage.”

The talks with leaders from countries including Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan are also meant to focus on cooperation. “To look at how we can work much more closely together in the areas of the economy, military cooperation, but also the humanitarian aid that is so urgently needed now,” Jetten said. “To see how we can really build a friendship with those countries, so that they also look to us instead of to the US.”

“The Middle East is of course our closest region, and when there is unrest there, we feel it in Europe. Among other things, due to new migration flows, much more coordinated aid from Europe to those countries is important,” Jetten said.

Although the prime minister does not see migration as the main reason for the talks. “The primary goal is, of course, that those wars stop, that tensions there decrease, and that there is once again a future perspective for Palestinians, for Lebanese people, for the people in Syria and all those other countries.”