Nov 10: Foreign Office Consultations between India and the Netherlands were held on 10th November, 2021 in The Hague, Netherlands. The Indian delegation was led by Mrs. Reenat Sandhu, Secretary (West), Ministry of External Affairs and the Dutch side was led by Mr. Paul Huijts, Secretary General, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
India and the Netherlands share a strong bilateral relationship, nurtured by the common values of democracy, rule of law, respect for human rights and the historic bonds of friendship. The Virtual Summit held in April 2021 between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Mark Rutte added new momentum to the bilateral ties. The Foreign Office Consultations provided an opportunity to review the progress made since the Virtual Summit. The two sides discussed ways of implementing the Strategic Partnership on Water that was launched at the Virtual Summit and for further strengthening bilateral cooperation in the priority areas of agriculture, health, S&T, climate innovation and renewable technologies. Indian side noted that the Netherlands continues to be among the top 5 investors in India and invited Dutch companies and institutional investors to take advantage of the huge opportunities opening up in India’s manufacturing, infrastructure and clean energy sectors as a result of bold policy reforms and investment friendly initiatives taken by the Government of India such as the PLI Scheme, the National Asset Monetization Programme and the Gati Shakti Plan.
The two sides also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest including Afghanistan, the Indo-Pacific, maritime cooperation, supply chain resilience and climate action. They expressed satisfaction at the growing India-EU relations and reiterated their desire for early implementation of the key outcomes of the India-EU Leaders’ Meeting in May 2021 including the resumption of negotiations on trade and investment agreements and the India-EU Connectivity Partnership. They also agreed to enhance cooperation at the United Nations and other international fora including G20.
Both sides appreciated the importance of regular bilateral exchanges at political and senior official levels and committed to intensify the same. They also agreed to work together to commemorate 75 years of establishment of diplomatic relations between India and the Netherlands in 2022.
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