Flemish and Netherlands PM's Unite On Mission to Texas - “a natural alliance” says Flanders Peeters

Dutch PM Rutte in Texas

Flanders and the Netherlands have a common interest in promoting themselves together as an economic cluster which is far more important than any competition between them, according to a joint statement issued by Flanders’ minister-president Kris Peeters and Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte. The two this week embarked on a three-day economic mission to Texas, accompanied by Flemish mobility minister Hilde Crevits and Dutch infrastructure minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen.

Peeters described the mission, in which the two are joined by more than 90 business representatives, as a “historic” moment. “This is the first time there has been a joint mission in the long history that Flanders and the Netherlands share,” he said. “Flanders and the Netherlands have a lot to offer. We have open economies propelled by our ports; we share the same language, culture and history. That natural alliance is what we will be using this joint mission to further develop.”

Rutte pointed to the size of the joint delegation. “It’s good to see so many people who are going to be making a lot of money in the next few days,” he joked. Flanders and the Netherlands together were small but powerful, he said. Texas on its own would be the 14th-largest economy in the world, he said – roughly the same as Flanders and the Netherlands combined.

Read more: Peeters and Rutte praise “natural alliance” | Flanders Today