Czech Foreign Minister Lubomír Zaorálek visited the Netherlands
Foreign Minister Lubomír Zaorálek paid a working visit to the Kingdom of the Netherlands on June 29, 2015, during which he held talks with his Dutch counterpart, Foreign Minister Bert Koenders, visited the International Criminal Court, where he met with its President, Silvia Fernández de Gurmendi and also with the Czech Judge Robert Fremr, and also paid a visit to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, where he was received by the Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü.
The ministerial consultations confirmed agreement on a number of topics, but also differing views between the two countries such as on the European Commission proposals concerning the relocation of refugees. Other topics included the challenges for the Eurozone, with emphasis on the situation in Greece, the conflict in eastern Ukraine, the Czech presidency of the V4 and NL EU Presidency, as well as opportunities to develop relationships V4-Benelux in the coming period. The President of the ICC discussed with minister Zaorálek the topical issues of cooperation of the ICC with the countries of the ICC. Director-General of the OPCW informed the minister in particular on the state of liquidation of former Syrian facilities for the production of chemical weapons. During the reception to mark the first anniversary of the establishment of the Czech-Dutch Chamber of Commerce the Agreement on the exchange of tax information between the Czech Republic and Aruba was signed, the purpose of which is to facilitate the fight against tax evasion by establishing a basic framework for cooperation between authorities investigating financial crime. On his way to the Netherlands, minister Zaorálek was accompanied by a business delegation under the patronage of the Chamber of Commerce of the Czech Republic that participated in the economic forum with Dutch partners organized in Rotterdam.
Ministers meeting