Stephan Weil, the Prime Minister of the German state of Lower Saxony, will visit The Hague on 2 and 3 February. The visit at the invitation of Prime Minister Mark Rutte was actually planned in March 2020, but was canceled due to the corona pandemic.

“In recent decades, a very close, intensive cooperation has developed between the Netherlands and Lower Saxony, an intellectual attitude,” says Weil. “We can conclude that Lower Saxony and the Netherlands have come closer together. It is likely that this is one of the few borders in Europe that will always remain open during the corona pandemic. There was also a lot of appreciation on both sides of the border.”

Collaborating on energy themes

“I count on us to continue working closely together in the future, because energy policy is an important theme in both Lower Saxony and the Netherlands,” Weil continues. “Both countries are currently undergoing a basic reorganization of their energy supply and are focusing on climate neutrality, the strong expansion of offshore wind energy and green hydrogen. These themes will therefore be at the heart of the talks in The Hague.”

Program

On Thursday 2 February, a meeting with Hanke Bruins Slot, Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, is scheduled. Subsequently, Prime Minister Weil Attje Kuiken, party leader and leader of the PvdA, will meet. A meeting with Rutte will take place in the afternoon. In the evening, Prime Minister Weil and the German ambassador will receive a group of representatives from politics and economics in The Hague for a discussion about energy policy.

On Friday 3 February there will be a meeting with Rob Jetten, Minister of Climate and Energy, about the programme. The visit will then come to an end and Weil will return to Lower Saxony by train, in keeping with the sustainable nature of his visit.