Manama: Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands started Wednesday a three-day visit to Qatar, during which several agreements related to arts, energy and business were expected to be signed.

The queen will be accompanied by Dutch Heir Apparent Prince Willem-Alexander and his wife Princess Maxima, as well as an economic mission by CEOs of Dutch companies to be led by Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Verhagen and the Chairman of the Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers Bernard Wientjes, the Dutch ambassador in Doha said.

Among agreements to be signed will be a memorandum of understanding between the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) and the Dutch Rijksmuseum Amsterdam on art conservation, ambassador John Groffen said.

Rijksmuseum houses a large collection of paintings from the Dutch Golden Age and an important collection of Asian art.

The Queen will attend the preview of the exhibition "The Golden Age of Dutch Painting" that will remain open to the public until June 6, the Qatar Tribune daily reported on Tuesday.

An agreement between Ras Laffan Industrial City and the Netherlands' port of Rotterdam, the largest port in Europe, was also expected to be signed.

According to the Dutch ambassador, other areas of cooperation in the field of energy would also be discussed.

He said Queen Beatrix would be taken on a tour by the Director of Ras Laffan Abdul Aziz Al Muftah at the Nakilat Damen Shipyards Qatar (NSDQ) and will also visit the Shell Pearl GTL plant.

The two countries would also ink an agreement to establish a joint business council and discuss ways to reinforce and broaden business cooperation.

"The state visit underlines the excellent relations between the Netherlands and Qatar," Groffen said. "The economic development of Qatar and opportunities for Dutch businesses will be in focus during the visit. We see the visit as a way to coordinate the relations that the two countries already have. It could be a stepping stone to increase our relations," the ambassador said, as quoted by the daily.

The envoy also said that the Netherlands intended to explore other areas of cooperation between the two countries such as in the aviation industry, and Qatar's hosting of the Fifa World Cup in 2022.

Queen Beatrix was also to tour Souq Waqif and meet the Dutch community at a reception in her honour.

The visit was to conclude with a concert by the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra at the Opera House in Katara.