Najib To Meet With Dutch PM Over MH17 Crash

From Mohd Razman Abdullah AMSTERDAM (Netherlands), July 31 (Bernama) -- Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is scheduled to meet his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte in The Hague over the Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH17 crash in Ukraine when he arrives Thursday for a two-day working visit to the Netherlands. Najib is scheduled to arrive at 8 am (2 pm in Malaysia), accompanied by his wife Rosmah Mansor, Health Minister Dr S. Subramaniam and Deputy Foreign Minister Hamzah Zainuddin. Malaysian Ambassador to the Netherlands Dr Fauziah Mohamad Taib said Najib's visit was primarily aimed at getting an update on the identification of the victims of the disaster and the repatriation of the remains. She told Malaysian journalists here that Najib would have discussions with Rutte from 11.15 am (5.15 pm in Malaysia) and then leave for Hilversum where the remains of the victims were undergoing identification and forensic process. The MAS flight, MH17, was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it went down in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, near the Russian border on July 17. The Boeing 777-200 aircraft, which was carrying 298 people - 283 passengers and 15 crew, is believed to have been shot down, but until today no one has claimed responsibility. The remains of the victims were flown from Ukraine to the Netherlands. Dutch nationals, at 193, comprised the largest number of passengers on Flight MH17. Dr Fauziah said Najib would host a dinner Thursday and a media conference at 8 am (2 pm in Malaysia) the next day. She said this was Najib's first working visit to the Netherlands. Previous Malaysian leaders who visited the Netherlands were former Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, in 2005, and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, in 1986, she added. Dr Fauziah said Malaysia was the Netherlands' largest trading and investment partner among Southeast Asian countries. --BERNAMA