Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende Wednesday arrived in Iraq to visit the Dutch troops deployed in the war-torn country, media reports said. 

The reports quoted a Dutch government spokesman as saying that the unannounced visit was to boost morale of the over 1,000 Dutch soldiers currently stationed in southern Iraq.

The prime minister will spend the day with the troops in the south, according to the reports reaching here.

The surprise visit followed a snap trip made by British Prime Minister Tony Blair to meet British troops and coalition officials in the southern major city of Basra on Sunday.  

(Xinhua News Agency January 8, 2004)