Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte arrived in Suriname on Monday for a two-day visit and his delegation include Elisabeth Schleiermacher, the foreign trade and development cooperation minister as well as representatives of various Dutch companies.
The visit is aimed at strengthening and broadening the bilateral relationship between the countries while re-committing to the special historical bond between them.
President Chan Santokhi met with the Dutch prime minister on Monday, while Schreinemacher also held a meeting with Foreign Affairs Minister, Albert Ramdin as well as representatives of civil society.
She will also visit the National Coordination Center for Disaster Management to discuss recent flooding. The first day of the visit will end with a dinner with the Surinamese and Dutch business community in the Presidential Palace.
On Tuesday, September 13, Rutte and Santokhi will lay a wreath at Bastion Veere, the monument dedicated to those killed in December 1982 in Fort Zeelandia. A court in Suriname has convicted former president Desi Bouterse of murder for the execution of 15 opponents following a coup to seize power, sentencing the man who has dominated the former Dutch colony’s recent history to 20 years in prison. Bouterse has appealed the conviction.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte will later on Tuesday deliver an address to the National Assembly and will later meet with members of the National Committee for Commemoration of Slavery Past and the National Repair Committee Suriname.
