Modi, Rob Jetten Launch New Roadmap For Strategic Partnership

By Deepak Arora

THE HAGUE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Rob Jetten have agreed to elevate the India-Netherlands bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by following focused, time bound initiatives and joint plans of action. The two leaders held wide-ranging talks on strengthening the India-Netherlands relationship at the Dutch Prime Minister's official residence (Catshuis) in The Hague....more

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Modi, Rob Jetten Launch New Roadmap For Strategic Partnership

By Deepak Arora

THE HAGUE, May 16: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Rob Jetten have agreed to elevate the India-Netherlands bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by following focused, time bound initiatives and joint plans of action.

The two leaders held wide-ranging talks on strengthening the India-Netherlands relationship at the Dutch Prime Minister's official residence (Catshuis) in The Hague.

Reflecting the shared values and trust, as well as increasing convergence and growing cooperation between the two countries, the leaders decided to elevate the bilateral relationship to a "Strategic Partnership".

They also agreed to adopt an ambitious Roadmap for Strategic Partnership to deepen cooperation in the areas of trade and investment, defence and security, emerging and critical technologies, maritime sector, renewable energy and education. To this end, India and the Netherlands adopted the Roadmap of India-Netherlands Strategic Partnership for the next 5 years (2026-2030).

In a volatile world, this partnership grants real advantages: higher earning capacity, sharper innovation, and stronger security for both nations.

This means more than just cooperation; it aids in strengthening economic resilience, strategic leverage, and long-term stability. A result of hard work and the beginning of an exciting new chapter.

Taking note of expanding business, investment, technology and innovation partnerships, the leaders noted that opportunities presented by the Indian growth story offer promising business prospects to Dutch companies.

Both leaders noted with satisfaction the progress in bilateral cooperation driven by continuous high-level exchanges. Underscoring the significance of cooperation in WAH [Water, Agriculture and Health], they agreed to further intensify the Strategic Partnership on Water through collaboration on large-scale water projects.

The Prime Ministers also welcomed the expanding cooperation across key sectors, including healthcare research, digital health, agriculture, and food safety.

During the talks, the leaders attached importance to expanding the trade and investment relationship between the two countries. Acknowledging the transformative potential of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement, they called for its early signing and implementation. They also affirmed that India-Netherlands cooperation in critical minerals will support resilient supply chains.

The two leaders also called for greater collaboration in emerging technologies, including AI and Semiconductors. They also encouraged holding of hackathon involving the youths of the two countries.

Committing to strengthen cooperation in renewable energy, they highlighted the importance of cooperation in green hydrogen, biofuels, green shipping and maritime logistics to ensure a sustainable future.

Both Prime Ministers expressed support for the new initiatives undertaken to strengthen mobility partnership and cooperation in higher education. In this regard, they took special note of the agreement concluded between Nalanda University and Groningen University.

Highlighting the strong cultural relations between the two nations, Prime Minister Modi thanked the Dutch Government for facilitating the return of the 11th-century Chola plates. In this regard, the two leaders also welcomed the collaboration between Leiden University Library and the Archaeological Survey of India, which will help advance knowledge of these historic artefacts.

Following the official talks, 14 agreements and Memoranda of Understanding were concluded in the fields of technology, green energy, trade, mobility, WAH, education and culture. A Joint Statement as well as the Roadmap on Strategic Partnership were adopted on the occasion of the Visit.

Prime Minister Modi invited Prime Minister Jetten to visit India which he accepted.

India and the Netherlands enjoy a strong bilateral relationship grounded in shared democratic values and multi-faceted cooperation across diverse sectors. Prime Minister Modi's visit to the Netherlands marks a significant milestone in this partnership.

Earlier during the first day of his visit, Modi met King of the Netherlands Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima at the Royal Palace and discussed close cooperation in digital technology, innovation, fintech and blue economy.

Ahead of the bilateral talks, Modi, along with Jetten, held discussions with prominent CEOs of leading Dutch companies across various sectors such as energy, ports, health, agriculture trade, and technology, among others.

Modi invited Dutch companies to explore opportunities in India, particularly in maritime, renewable energy, digital technologies, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and healthcare sectors.

“We are continuously reducing compliance and increasing the ease of doing business. We have recently carried out next-generation reforms in taxation, labour code, and governance,” he told the business leaders.

The Prime Minister added that manufacturing in India is becoming very cost-effective, and in the services sector, it has become the engine of efficiency and innovation.

Meanwhile, Electronics manufacturing company Tata Electronics and Dutch semiconductor equipment major ASML have joined hands to enable chip manufacturing in India, a joint statement said on Saturday.

ASML is known for having monopoly in a category of lithography equipment which is critical for production of advance small size semiconductors.

Modi arrives in Netherlands on second leg of five-nation tour

THE HAGUE, May 15: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in the Netherlands on Friday on the second leg of his five-nation tour. During the visit, he will hold talks with his Dutch counterpart Rob Jetten to further deepen bilateral cooperation in areas such as trade, technology, defence and renewable energy.

Modi was received at the airport by Rear Admiral Ludger Brummelaar, Adjutant-General and Chief of the Military Household of His Majesty the King; Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen; India’s Ambassador to the Netherlands Kumar Tuhin; and Netherlands Ambassador to India Marisa Gerards along with other senior officials of the Dutch Government.

“Landed in Amsterdam. This visit to the Netherlands comes at a time when India-E.U. Free Trade Agreement has given a major impetus to trade and investment linkages,” the Prime Minister said in a social media post soon after his arrival.

Modi warns of ‘return of massive poverty’, flags ‘disaster decade’ of Covid, wars, fuel crisis

THE HAGUE, May 16: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered one of his starkest warnings yet about the state of the global economy on Saturday, telling the Indian diaspora in the Netherlands that decades of hard-won progress against poverty stood at serious risk if the world's cascading crises were not urgently reversed.

"The world is dealing with new challenges," he said, speaking at a community event in The Hague during the second leg of his five-nation European tour.

In light of ongoing conflicts, particularly in the oil-rich West Asian region after the US and Israel's attacks on Iran, Modi described the present decade as a period of compounding catastrophe.

“First came the corona (virus) pandemic; then wars began to break out, and now there is an energy crisis. This decade is turning into a decade of disasters for the world,” he explained, speaking in Hindi.

He issued a pointed warning about the consequences of inaction. If these situations are not rapidly changed, he said, “achievements of the past many decades would be washed away, and a huge section of the world's population would be pushed back into poverty".

The remarks came at a moment of acute economic anxiety across India, West Asia, and beyond.