Persconferentie Rutte in het Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam

Toespraak | 24-03-2014

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Netherlands, welcome to Amsterdam, and welcome to this special location.

We're standing here on historic ground - surrounded by the finest paintings that Holland has produced and only a stone's throw from the house of John Adams, the first American ambassador to the Netherlands and second president of the United States. It's a location that symbolises the enduring partnership between the US and the Netherlands. Our shared history and heritage go back a long way.

As a historian, it was a very special moment for me when, earlier today, I was able to show President Obama two original documents from our National Archives that played an important role in the age-old friendship between our two countries. The first was our own 'Declaration of Independence', the Plakkaat van Verlatinghe of 1581, which inspired Thomas Jefferson and his peers. The second was the American-Dutch Treaty of Amity and Trust of 1782 - another remarkable document from an age when peace between countries was usually a hard-fought affair.

And today, friendship is still at the heart of the relationship between the United States and the Netherlands, along with trade, shared values and joint responsibilities. Since that first treaty we have worked together in the growing awareness that economic prosperity, a safe and stable world and international cooperation go hand in hand.

With this in mind, the President and I talked about a wide range of subjects. Starting with joint climate initiatives and the new steps we will take today in that regard. The Netherlands is joining with the United States and a group of other countries in a bid to stop international public funding of new coal-fired power plants, for example by multilateral development banks. We want to achieve an international level playing field, to ensure that private and public parties invest in green growth wherever possible.

We also discussed the important topic of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement between the EU and the US. Once concluded, this agreement will create more economic growth and jobs on both sides of the Atlantic. Importantly, it will set new standards that will benefit global trade and third countries as well. This partnership will bolster our excellent bilateral economic ties even further. During our conversation I stressed how much we value this partnership. The Netherlands is the world's third largest investor in the United States, and we are home to some 1800 American businesses.

And of course we also spoke about the major international security issues in Syria, Iran and the Ukraine. Concerning the latter, we both regard Russia's attempts to annex the Crimea as a flagrant breach of international law, and we condemn its actions in the strongest possible terms. The presence of so many world leaders in the Netherlands this week presents an important opportunity for the international community to discuss this subject as well as other pressing issues that affect our common interests.

Finally, we looked ahead to the Nuclear Security Summit today and tomorrow. President Obama deserves all the credit for getting this topic high on the agenda. In 2010, Washington hosted the first summit on this theme. In 2012, it was Seoul's turn. And now the Netherlands is proud to host a summit, today and tomorrow in The Hague, that will bring us closer to the goal of securing potentially dangerous nuclear material. Your presence, Barack, underlines the importance of the summit. And this event, too, demonstrates the strength of the bilateral ties between our countries, and of our joint commitment to peace, security and democracy. I am delighted to be able to reaffirm that publicly, here at this splendid location.

Thank you.