World leaders attending the nuclear security summit in The Hague rounded off the first day on Monday with a dinner hosted by king Willem-Alexander and queen Máxima.

The guests at the dinner, which was held amid the splendours of palace Huis ten Bosch, were welcomed by the king who told them their presence at the summit gave the world a clear message. ‘A message of cooperation across borders. A message of hope for a safer world,’ he said.

Declaration

On Tuesday, the second and final day of the summit, the world leaders will work towards a joint declaration. The first day already brought agreement that countries should store as little enriched uranium and plutonium as possible.

Day two will concentrate on how to store nuclear material safely to avoid its theft and use by terrorists.

Discussions also continue in the margins of the main summit. On Tuesday, Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte has meetings with United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, Turkish president Abdullah Gül and the prime ministers of Vietnam and New Zealand.

Fan club

One world leader now has a fan club in The Hague: Barack Obama. Fans of the American president held a party on Monday evening in the parliamentary press centre Nieuwspoort which was decked out in stars and stripes flags and banners reading ‘welcome mr president’. 

Traffic

For motorists, the warning not to use their cars and to work from home where possible continues into Tuesday. The morning rush hour was quiet, motoring organisation ANWB reports, but there could be problems during the evening when world leaders begin their return journey to Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport.