Prime minister Mark Rutte and his Flemish colleague Kris Peeters are planning a joint trade mission later this year.

‘It is a sign of respect and equality between the two governments,’ foreign affairs minister Frans Timmermans said on announcing the trip.

According to Timmermans, the Netherlands and the Dutch-speaking Flanders region of Belgium form one region and that is how people in Asia and Latin America see them.

The plan for a trade mission comes at a time of major problems on the railways. The Dutch national railway NS and the Belgian national railway NMBS are locked in combat over the debacle over the Frya high-speed train between Amsterdam and Brussels.

Details of the mission will take place have not yet been announced.