On Thursday, 11 October King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima were received with high honours at the State Chancery of the Saarland in Saarbrücken by Premier Tobias Hans and the latter’s spouse Tanja Hans. The meeting was followed by a luncheon at Saarbrücken Castle, which once belonged to a line of the House of Nassau.
Later in the afternoon the Dutch delegation on security and digitalisation paid a visit to the University of Saarbrücken, which is renown for its programme on digital industries, artificial intelligence, cyber security, smart industry and work 4.0.
Immediately after the university, the Dutch dignitaries headed to Saarlouis to observe a practical implementation of decentralisation of energy production. The Bürger-Energie-Genossenschaft Köllertal eG in Saarlouis is a energy cooperative organised jointly by citizens and the city. There are about 1 800 such cooperatives all in all in Germany.
In the evening a dinner was hosted at Saareck Castle in Mettlach. Highlight of the soirée was a talk given by the German philosopher David Precht and the Netherlands historian Rutger Bregman about the future relation between human and machines vis-à-vis the development of new technologies.
Friday, 12 October
The Royal Couple paid a visit to the world heritage site of Völklinger Hütte. In the latter iron smelting industrial site, which was hosting an international symposium about the development of industries and working cultures in Europe.
Final stop for the Dutch delegation was a visit to the University Clinic in Homburg with focus on the mission for eHealth and elderly care.
For further information:
- http://www.diplomatmagazine.
nl/2018/06/04/dutch-royal- couple-to-visit-rhineland- palatinate-and-the-saarland/ - https://www.koenigshaus.nl/
aktuelles/nachrichten/2018/09/ 06/konigspaar-besucht- rheinland-pfalz-und-saarland-2 - State Chancery of the Saarland (Premier Tobias Hans): https://koenigsbesuch.
saarland.de - https://www.flickr.com/photos/
saarland_de/sets/ 72157702293525635
