Queen Maxima Visits Savannah, Georgia

While motorcades carrying high profile officials are becoming familiar to Savannah, the one dashing around Savannah Tuesday carried Dutch royalty.

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands visited Savannah on a working trip, meeting with city leaders, port officials and educators at Savannah State University for discussions on Georgia and Netherlands relations. Savannah was one of three stops on the Dutch royals’ working trip to the U.S., which included a stop in Atlanta Monday and another planned for New York on Wednesday.

Johnson took the king and queen through the rotunda before a roundtable discussion with city and Dutch officials. The roundtable was kicked off with opening remarks by Johnson who said he hoped to explore opportunities for increased partnership.

“We want to find ways to be able to expand trade, investments, also cultural exchanges and educational exchanges,” Johnson said. “We’re so honored that you have taken the time to be here.”

There were also roundtables with a Dutch business delegation at the Georgia Ports Authority that focused on sustainable port development and inland connectivity. GPA President and CEO Griff Lynch hosted the king and queen on a port tour before an on-dock session recapping the roundtables.

The on-dock session featured remarks from Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management Mark Harbers, and Dutch businesses leaders Bas Verhaik, CEO of ELEO Technologies, and Elizabeth Post, chair of Logistics Alliance of the Netherlands. ELEO technologies builds battery packs for non-highway electric vehicles such as agriculture equipment.

“I see a lot of potential for increasing the collaboration between the Georgia state and Netherlands,” Verhaik said.

The Dutch royals also stopped in at Savannah State University, which was hosting a few symposiums on marine science, cultural heritage and artificial intelligence. The artificial intelligence conference was part of a collaboration between the U.S. and Netherlands, according to a press release from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The king and queen took a brief tour of SSU’s Marine Science Center before dropping in on the daylong coastal resiliency and “blue economy” symposium being held in a large, air-conditioned tent within view of the university’s dock on Country Club Creek. 

The royals chatted for about 10 minutes with a handful of faculty members at the event, which drew dozens of researchers, government officials and business executives from both countries. The Netherlands has become an innovator in coastal preservation because more than half of the nation sits below sea level. 

The Dutch royals engaged with some tourists during a stop at Forsyth Park, where they were seen taking pictures with other parkgoers. The royal couple entered the park at its north end and walked arm in arm to the fountain.

The king and queen’s visit to Savannah was set to end with a reception at the Telfair Museum, according to the embassy’s press release.