The Netherlands will join the UN Security Council on January 1 next year on a temporary basis and prime minister Mark Rutte, plus other ministers are in New York to meet leaders ahead of the start.

The Netherlands has three priorities during its temporary membership, Rutte said in a speech to the gathering: a strong United Nations in a safe and sustainable world.

‘The problems confronting today’s world – migration, climate change, food security, cybercrime and terrorism – are by definition international,’ he said. ‘No single country can tackle them in isolation. We need each other. Working together across sectors is part of our country’s tradition’

The prime minister went on to say that the Netherlands is particularly keen to share its expertise in water management with the rest of the world. ‘Working together on water issues, is more crucial than ever before,’ Rutte said. ‘The impact of climate change on the water cycle is brought home to us every day, all over the world, and sometimes violently.’

The prime minister did not comment on US president Donald Trump’s controversial speech but told journalists later that ‘his eyebrows raised’, the NRC reported.

It is the first time in 20 years that the Netherlands has been able to join the UN as one of 10 temporary members of the security council.