India elevated its ties with the Netherlands to a ‘strategic partnership’ on Saturday — adopting an ambitious roadmap across multiple sectors. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Dutch counterpart Rob Jetten also discussed a range of global and bilateral issues including the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and its impact on energy prices.
“The two leaders acknowledged increasing convergence and formally elevated the bilateral relationship to a strategic partnership, which is very significant. They adopted an ambitious roadmap for strategic partnership, guiding cooperation across various sectors,” said MEA Secretary Sibi George.
They also attended the signing of a partnership agreement between Tata Electronics and ASML to support the semiconductor fabrication facility in Dholera. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, this was the first such partnership ASML had struck with India and a “significant step in advancing the semiconductor ecosystem” of the country.
Trade, investment, semiconductors, green energy, defence in focus – 17 key outcomes
Talks between Modi and Jetten focused on deepening cooperation “in trade, investment, technology, semiconductors, green energy, defence and water management”. The MEA said support for the early India-EU FTA signing and implementation was also under discussion.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal later shared details of 17 key ‘outcomes’ of the visit — including multiple MoUs and the restitution of historic Chola-era copper plates. The two countries also formalised a ‘Roadmap of India-Netherlands Strategic Partnership’ on Saturday.
India and the Netherlands arrived at 17 wide-ranging lists of outcomes during the visit of PM Modi:
- Restitution of Chola Copper Plates
- Memorandum of Understanding on Mobility and Migration between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the Netherlands
- MoU between TATA Electronics and ASML to support semiconductor Fab in Dholera
- Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Mines of the Republic of India and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands on cooperation in the field of Critical Minerals
- Letter of Intent between Ministry of Jal Shakti of the Republic of India and Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, the Netherlands for Technical Cooperation with regards to the Kalpasar Project, Gujarat
- India-Netherlands Roadmap on the Development of Green Hydrogen Cooperation
- Establishment of a Joint Working Group under the renewed Memorandum of Understanding MoU on Co-operation in the Field of Renewable Energy
- Joint Statement of Intent between NITI Aayog and the Netherlands for Collaboration on Projects for Energy Sector and Energy Transition
- Establishment of Indo-Dutch Center of Excellence for Flowers in West Tripura
- Establishment of Indo-Dutch Center of Excellence on Training in Dairy at the Center of Excellence for Animal Husbandry (CEAH), Bengaluru
- Joint Declaration between Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature of the Netherlands on Collaboration in Animal Husbandry and Dairying
- Letter Of Intent between Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India
- and National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) on Cooperation/Collaboration in Health
- Agreement between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters
- Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the Netherlands on cooperation in the field of Higher Education
- Memorandum of Understanding on Academic Cooperation between Nalanda University, India and the University of Groningen, the Netherlands
- Memorandum of Understanding between Leiden University Libraries and Archaeological Survey of India