(Communicated by the Foreign Minister's Bureau)
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Avigdor Liberman will leave on Sunday afternoon (8 November) for a visit to Denmark and the Netherlands, accompanied by Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon.
In Copenhagen, Foreign Minister Liberman will meet with Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Møller, Minister for Justice Brian Mikkelsen, Minister for Refugee, Immigration and Integration Affairs Birthe Rønn Hornbech, President of the Danish Parliament Thor Pedersen, Chairperson of the parliament's Foreign Policy Committee Gitte Lillelund Bech, and members of the Jewish community. The Foreign Minister will also take part in a ceremony at the memorial site for the Jews of Denmark who were sent to the Terezinstadt concentration camp, where he will lay a wreath in their memory.
In the Hague, FM Liberman will meet with Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen, President of the House of Representatives Gerdi A. Verbeet, and with members of the Jewish community.
Foreign Minister Liberman will hold discussions with his hosts in Denmark and the Netherlands on the upgrading of Israel's relations with the European Union as well as bilateral issues. He will also discuss with them regional issues, including the violation of UN Security Council resolutions by Iran and Syria in the wake of Israel's interception of the arms ship last week. He will also stress the importance that the democratic states oppose the Goldstone report, in order to continue the fight against terrorism. FM Liberman will convey to the Dutch leaders his appreciation of their firm stance against the Goldstone report.
While in the Netherlands, FM Liberman will meet with the Israeli ambassadors to the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Sweden, as well as with the ambassador to the European Union, and will conduct in-depth discussions with them of the issues on Israel's agenda vis-a-vis these states.
FM Liberman will return to Israel on Thursday, November 12.