The Netherlands is to extend its contribution to the UN peace mission in Sudan (UNMIS) by one year. The decision was taken today by the cabinet on the advice of foreign minister Maxime Verhagen, defence minister Eimert van Middelkoop and interior minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin.

Over the next ten years the European Union must focus on smart and sustainable economic growth that will benefit everyone in the Union. This is the essence of the new Europe 2020 strategy presented by the European Commission in Brussels. Europe 2020 is the successor to the Lisbon strategy, which runs until this year.

The Netherlands supports further reforms in Georgia in regard to democracy, the rule of law and the economy. This was announced by Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Verhagen in The Hague following a meeting with his Georgian counterpart Grigol Vashadze.

In his address today to the Human Rights Council in Geneva, foreign minister Maxime Verhagen said that membership of the Council should be denied to countries that systematically violate human rights.

From now on, Belarusian children from the still highly radioactive Chernobyl area will be able to travel to the Netherlands without restriction. In response to questions in the Dutch parliament, foreign minister Maxime Verhagen stated that negotiations with Belarus have removed the last remaining obstacles.

The Netherlands is giving the International Red Cross €300,000 for emergency relief to Chile. 'The victims of this terrible earthquake urgently need help, so we are making this money available immediately,' said foreign minister Maxime Verhagen.

Today, the Supreme Court of Burma rejected Aung San Suu Kyi's appeal against the extension of her house arrest. Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Verhagen called the judgment disgraceful, saying that '[t]he military regime wants to keep Aung San Suu Kyi in detention to prevent her from playing any role in the elections later this year.'

The Queen has accepted the resignations of the Labour Party (PvdA) ministers and state secretaries and has asked the caretaker government to help ensure that the House of Representatives is dissolved soon so that a general election can be held on 9 June 2010.

Yesterday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Verhagen had telephone talks with members of the Afghan government and the Netherlands' allies in the southern part of Afghanistan. He spoke with colleagues from several countries, including Australia, Germany, Denmark and Slovakia, about the situation arising from the Netherlands' inability to take a decision about further involvement in Afghanistan after this August.

The Netherlands is fully behind the service personnel, diplomats and development staff who are doing such difficult work in Uruzgan. This message was conveyed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxime Verhagen in a telephone conversation with the most senior Dutch diplomat in the Afghan province, Civil Representative Jennes de Mol.

The fourth Balkenende government was unable to agree on whether the Netherlands' military involvement in ISAF after December 2010 should continue. For that reason, the Labour Party ministers and state secretaries have tendered their resignation, and the Christian Democrat and Christian Union ministers and state secretaries have indicated their readiness to give up their portfolios.

Today in Tarin Kowt, a group of Afghan trainees were awarded their instructor's certificates in business development. The successful candidates are now qualified to train other Afghans as entrepreneurs and assist them in setting up and running a business. The certificates were presented by Jennes de Mol, the Netherlands' civilian representative in the province.

The cabinet has discussed the confusion that has arisen in the media about the background to NATO's request for a new Dutch mission in Uruzgan.

An agreement launching Business Partners for Uruzgan has been signed in Kabul by the Afghanistan Investment Support Agency (AISA), the Afghan Economic Reconstruction Working Group (WEWA) of the Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers (VNO-NCW), and the Dutch policy and business development agency Ferendi. At the same time WEWA opened a Business Support Office in Kabul.

The NATO Secretary-General has asked the Netherlands to extend its mission in Afghanistan beyond August, when it is scheduled to transfer overall responsibility in Uruzgan to another country.

Task Force Uruzgan can look back on a successful mission over the last few months. This was foreign minister Maxime Verhagen's message yesterday when he met with Civil Representative Michel Rentenaar and Brigadier Marc van Uhm, who recently transferred leadership to Jennes de Mol and Brigadier Kees van den Heuvel.

This week, at the invitation of foreign minister Maxime Verhagen, the Netherlands is hosting the final preparatory meeting for the nuclear security summit, which will be held in Washington in April. Representatives of 43 countries and four international organisations will be looking ahead to the summit during the three-day meeting, which begins on 9 February.

Italian-American, Mexican-American: in the United States, a 'hyphenated' identity is commonplace. But is the same thing possible in the Netherlands? On Friday, European affairs minister Frans Timmermans teamed up with Reverend Jesse Jackson and American Muslim leader Eboo Patel to try to find out.

The Dutch Visitors Programme for young, future leaders from emerging markets and powers like Brazil, China and India has got off to a successful start, foreign minister Maxime Verhagen said today at the induction of the programme board.

The Netherlands and Burundi are to step up cooperation in the security sector in order to improve the security and human rights situation in Burundi. This was the outcome of the political dialogue held this morning in The Hague between members of the Dutch and Burundian governments.