Kochi:  King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands who arrived in Kochi for a two-day visit received a warm welcome. The duo arrived at Cochin International Airport on Thursday (October 17). The Dutch Royals who arrived in New Delhi on Monday are visiting India at the invitation of President Ram Nath Kovind.

Mohammed Arif Khan, Kerala Governor and education minister C Raveendranath welcomed them at the airport. The king and queen were welcomed with kathakali and theyyam artists. 

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In the afternoon, the king and queen visited the Dutch Palace at Mattanchery. Minister Kadannappally Ramachandran and mayor Soumini Jain welcomed the guests at the palace.  Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who met with them later in the evening and hosted dinner, said the relationship between the people of The Netherlands and Kerala spans many centuries.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) to promote international cooperation and exchange of knowledge by sharing digitised antique documents were also signed between the state Archives Department and National Archives of the Netherlands at the Dutch Palace. The king and queen witnessed the signing of document by Kerala Archives director J Rejikumar and Dutch National Archives director DG Marens.