King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium will pay an official visit to Greece on May 2-4, following an invitation by Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou according to a statement from her office.
According to the announcement on the Royal website, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde will be accompanied by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sophie Wilmès, and Minister-Presidents of Communities and Regions, Elio Di Rupo, Rudi Vervoort, Jan Jambon, Pierre-Yves Jeholet and Oliver Paasch.
Meanwhile, with the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Dutch Royals, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima announced the postponement of their official visit to Greece which was scheduled for March 2022, initially expected to take place in late 2021 but was postponed, after consultations between King Willem-Alexander and President Sakellaropoulou, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Due to the war in Ukraine and the sufferings of the Ukrainian people, after consultation between King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands with the President of the Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou, the official visit to Greece scheduled for March 16-18 is postponed,” the statement said.
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima were to be accompanied by Dutch foreign minister Wopke Hoekstra. Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Liesje Schreinemacher, Minister for Migration Eric van der Burg and State Secretary for Health, Welfare and Sport Maarten van Ooijen will attend selected parts of the programme.
