Prime minister makes first foreign trip – to Belgium

Prime minister Mark Rutte made his first foreign trip since becoming premier on Wednesday – a meeting with his Belgian counterpart Yves Leterme.


Belgium currently holds the rotating chairmanship of the EU and EU leaders will hold a summit next week.
The two prime ministers also discussed plans to deepen the Westerschelde estuary, which has caused considerable conflict between the two countries over the past few years.
They also discussed the dispute over modernising the Iron Rhine railway which runs from Antwerp port to Germany and potential alliances in terms of energy production, the Telegraaf said.
Neither Rutte nor Leterme would comment on the political situation in Belgium. The country is still without a coalition government, after four months of talks.

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