24th May, 2018
India and the Netherlands agree on a wide range of pacts covering trade, investment, technology and agriculture on Thursday.
Amsterdam has formally joined a coalition of dozens of countries focused on solar energy development.
Dutch Premier Mark Rutte took part in talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in New Delhi.
Both leaders also participated in a CEO roundtable.
Addressing the press, the leaders said they discussed boosting political and trade ties, regional issues as well as matters of global concern including fighting climate change.
The Netherlands signed an agreement to become the 64th member country of the International Solar Alliance, launched on the margins of the 2015 Paris Climate Change conference as a coalition of countries that aim to harness solar energy at an affordable cost.
India and the Netherlands also announced a list of pacts on boosting cooperation in agriculture and food processing, business, clean energy, life sciences and health as well as collaborations between knowledge institutions.
Both countries recorded bilateral trade worth 7.6 billion dollars in the last fiscal year, with Amsterdam being the fifth largest investor in India.
The Netherlands is also home to a 235,000-strong Indian diaspora, the largest in mainland Europe.
Rutte said that he was cutting his two-day visit short so that he could chair a cabinet meeting on Friday to discuss investigators’ findings on the missile that brought down Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in 2014.