# King and Queen make state visit to Qatar in December

> King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima will visit Qatar from 9 to 11 December, the first Dutch state visit to the Middle East since 2012. Ministers and a state secretary will travel with them.

World · published 2026-11-09 12:59 · https://nlnow.nl/a/king-and-queen-to-make-state-visit-to-qatar-in-december/

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima will make a state visit to Qatar from Wednesday 9 to Friday 11 December 2026, the Royal House has announced. The royal couple have been invited by Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the emir of Qatar.

Tom Berendsen, minister of Foreign Affairs, Dilan Yeşilgöz, minister of Defence, and Sjoerd Sjoerdsma, minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, will travel with them. So will Silvio Erkens, state secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature.

It is the first Dutch state visit to a country in the Middle East since January 2012. On that trip, Queen Beatrix visited the United Arab Emirates and Oman in turn. Willem-Alexander and Máxima were also on that trip.

The trip follows a visit to the Netherlands by the emir of Qatar in June 2024.

## Background

- **staatssecretaris**: A state secretary is a junior member of the Dutch government who is not a full minister. A staatssecretaris is responsible for a specific policy area within a ministry, such as agriculture, fisheries, or nature, and works under the minister who leads that ministry. In the sentence, Silvio Erkens holds this role for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature.

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