Prime Minister of the Netherlands Jan Peter Balkenende will visit Shanghai from 30 April to 1 May.

As a guest of the organization of the World Expo 2010 he will attend the official opening ceremony on Friday evening 30 April. On 1 May, the first day of the World Expo, he will open the country pavilion of the Netherlands Happy Street, pay a visit to the Rotterdam Water City Pavilion and visit a few other country pavilions as well.

Also on 1 May Balkenende will meet President Hu Jintao, to express his sympathy to the victims of the earthquake that hit Qinghai Province on 14 April. At the same time the aspects of the bilateral relations between China and the Netherlands and the global subjects will be addressed.

Balkenende will start his program in Shanghai on Friday 30 April with a visit to Fudan University, where he will give a guest lecture about the roles of the Netherlands, Europe and China in a global perspective. At the same day he will celebrate with the Dutch community in Shanghai the birthday of the Queen of the Netherlands.

In the later afternoon of 30 April Balkenende will pay a visit to the Dutch Culture Centre, the pavilion of arts and culture of the Netherlands at the Expo. Established in Jing'an district this cultural centre is an official part of the World Expo 2010 and it presents and stimulates the exchange and dialogue between art and culture from both China and the Netherlands.

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