Queen Máxima expands Washington schedule with IMF, World Bank and G20 financial talks
Queen Máxima of the Netherlands is in Washington D.C. this week with an expanded program at the IMF and World Bank spring meetings, G20-related events, and multiple bilateral talks focused on financial health, financial inclusion, and development outcomes the government reports.
Queen Máxima, serving as the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Financial Health (UNSGSA), will be in Washington D.C. from Wednesday evening, April 15, through Saturday, April 18. Her visit is part of a broader Dutch diplomatic program in the United States that includes Prime Minister Rob Jetten and King Willem-Alexander.
Her program centers on financial inclusion, insurance access, and development-focused economic resilience, alongside participation in global financial governance discussions.
On Thursday, April 16, she will take part in a fireside chat titled “Managing Risks in an age of Uncertainty: Insurance, Resilience & Development,” hosted by the Insurance Development Forum, CGAP, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, and the World Bank. She is expected to stress the role of insurance products in protecting households and businesses from financial shocks and supporting economic growth, citing examples such as small-scale farmers recovering investments in seed after crop failure and business loans linked to fire insurance.
Later that day, she will join another fireside chat at the Inter-American Development Bank, focusing on financial health in Latin America and the Caribbean. The discussion builds on her 2025 engagement with the institution.
On Friday, April 17, she will speak at a “G20 Fireside Chat on Global Financial Literacy,” at the invitation of U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Participants include Bessent, World Bank President Ajay Banga, and finance ministers Edgar Amador Zamora of Mexico and Satsuki Katayama of Japan. The United States has chaired the G20 since Dec. 1, 2025.
Later that day, she will meet Bessent at the U.S. Treasury Department alongside Dutch Finance Minister Eelco Heinen to continue discussions on financial health policy.
On Saturday, April 18, she will conclude her Washington D.C. program with a Reference Group meeting involving international development organizations she has worked with since 2009.
Across the visit, she will also hold bilateral meetings with International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, and central bank governors from the Philippines, Ghana, India, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the West African States (BCEAO), as well as Indonesia’s finance minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa. These discussions underscore her focus on financial inclusion and development-oriented economic policy.
The broader Dutch delegation in the United States includes Prime Minister Rob Jetten, who is scheduled to meet former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Washington D.C., according to the Government Information Service. He will also meet Republican and Democratic senators involved in transatlantic relations and attend the Bilderberg Conference in the city.
The visit will conclude with a White House dinner involving President Donald Trump, King Willem-Alexander, Queen Máxima, and Jetten. Trump has reportedly invited the King and Queen to stay overnight at the White House following his own stay at Huis ten Bosch during last year’s NATO summit.
Defense Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz described the timing of Jetten’s visit as “awkward,” while also calling it “very valuable” that he meets Trump alongside the King and Queen, saying they help “open many doors that would otherwise remain closed.”
Jetten has said NATO is “under considerable pressure” but remains essential for Dutch security, and described his upcoming meeting with Trump as “a very challenging discussion.”
The King and Queen will also travel to Philadelphia and Miami during the visit, including meetings with officials and students as part of commemorations tied to the 250th anniversary of American independence.
