Amsterdam  - The Dutch government on Wednesday announced a 6- billion-euro (8.1-billion-dollar) economic stimulus plan that will see investment followed by cost-cutting in 2011 to tackle the economic crisis.

Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, presenting the plan to parliament, said the funds would be spent over six years, primarily on infrastructure projects, unemployment prevention and sustainable energy over the next six years.

Washington  - Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende will not attend a meeting of the leaders of the world's top economic powers after learning that his father had died, US President George W Bush said late Friday.

Balkenende learned of his father's death while he was travelling to Washington for the G20 summit and immediately returned to the Netherlands to be with his family.

The country will instead be represented by Finance Minister Jan Cornelis de Jager.

Amsterdam  - Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende congratulated Barack Obama on Wednesday with his victory in Tuesday's US presidential elections.

The Dutch prime minister sent a letter to the US president-elect, wishing him success.

In a statement released by the Dutch government communication service RVD, Balkenende further said "it was beautiful to see this election has moved millions of people, both in the US as well as abroad."

Referring, among others, to the global credit crisis, Balkenende said Obama's presidential term will be "challenging" and noted that the need for "intensive trans-Atlantic co-operation" was "never more urgent" than today.