Embassy of India

The Hague

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Brief on India-Netherlands Bilateral Relations

         India and the Netherlands established diplomatic relations in 1947. The year 2022 marked 75 years of establishment of diplomatic relations. Today, India and the Netherlands share a Strategic Partnership underpinned by strong political, economic and commercial ties. High level mutual exchanges have provided impetus to the multifaceted partnership between the two countries. Water, Agriculture and Health (WAH) are three priority sectors of cooperation besides technology and innovation.

          High Level Exchanges: India and the Netherlands have regular engagements at high level.  PM Modi visited the Netherlands from 15-17 May 2026 during which he held official talks with PM of the Netherlands, Rob Jetten, and paid a call on Their Majesties King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands. During the visit, India and Netherlands elevated ties to a Strategic Partnership and adopted a Roadmap of India-Netherlands Strategic Partnership [2026-2030].

          Following the formation of the new Government in the Netherlands led by PM Rob Jetten in February 2026, PM Modi and PM Jetten had a telecon on 30 March 2026. A bilateral meeting was held between PM Modi and then PM Dick Schoof on the sidelines of the AI Summit in New Delhi in February 2026. The two leaders also met on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Johannesburg on 23 November 2025. In a telecon, PM Schoof had also conveyed his condolences to PM Modi in April 2025 on the Pahalgam terrorist attack.

          EAM Dr. Jaishankar met Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen on 16 March 2026 in Brussels and had an interaction on 28 May 2026 on the sidelines of the informal EU Foreign Ministers Meeting in Gymnich, Cyprus. Foreign Minister David van Weel visited India in December 2025 and met EAM Dr. Jaishankar, Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh and NSA Shri Ajit Doval. EAM Dr. Jaishankar met with Dutch FM David van Weel on the sidelines of 80^th UNGA in New York in September 2025.

          EAM visited the Netherlands in May 2025 and met with then PM Schoof, then Foreign Minister Veldkamp and Defence Minister Ruben Brekelmans. This followed the visit of FM Caspar Veldkamp to India at the end of March 2025, who met with EAM Dr. Jaishankar, NSA Shri Ajit Doval and held discussions on bilateral relations, new areas of cooperation and other issues of mutual interest.

          Commerce & Industries Minister Shri Piyush Goyal met Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade & Development Aid, Mr. Sjoerd Sjoerdsma, on the sidelines of 14th WTO Ministerial Commerce in Cameroon in March 2026. The two Ministers also held a virtual meeting on 12 May 2026. MeitY Minister Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw visited the Netherlands in January 2026 and held a meeting with the then Minister of Economic Affairs Vincent Karremans. Minister of State for External Affairs Shri Kirti Vardhan Singh met the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Asylum and Migration of the Netherlands, Mr. Bart Van Den Brink, on 05 May 2026 in New York on the sidelines of International Migration Review Forum 2026.  Defence Minister Mr Ruben Brekelmans visited India in February 2025 to participate in the Raisina Dialogue. During the visit he also met with Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh and NSA Shri Ajit Doval. Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management Robert Tiemen visited India in October 2025 for attending the India Maritime Week.

          Former PM Mark Rutte, during his 14 year-long premiership, visited India thrice in 2015, 2018 and 2023 (for the G20 Summit). An Online Virtual Summit between the two leaders took place in 2021 wherein the India-Netherlands Strategic Partnership in Water was launched and the Joint Working Group on Water Cooperation was elevated to the Ministerial level. PM Modi had visited the Netherlands in 2017 and met PM Mark Rutte. 

          In April 2022, on the occasion of 75 years of India-Netherlands relations, then President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind paid a State Visit to the Kingdom of Netherlands. The President was ceremonially welcomed at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam by His Majesty King Willem-Alexander and Her Majesty Queen Máxima. He had also met with PM Rutte. King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands paid a state visit to India from 14-18 October 2019.

          Speaker of Lok Sabha Shri Om Birla visited the Netherlands in August 2022 and interacted with the President of the Senate, Mr Jan Anthonie Bruijn, who later visited India in October 2023 to participate in the P20 Summit.

         Institutional Mechanisms: India and the Netherlands review the full spectrum of their bilateral relationship through annual consultations led by the respective Ministries of Foreign Affairs at the Secretary level. The last Foreign Office Consultations were held in New Delhi on 04 December 2025. The two sides also have Joint Working Groups (JWGs)/Dialogues at functional level in the fields of (i) Science & Technology (ii) Agriculture (iii) Healthcare (iv) Urban Development (v) Counter Terrorism (vi) Maritime Cooperation (vii) Water (viii) Policy Planning (ix) Cyber Dialogue (x) Consular (xi) Renewable Energy (xii) Pharmaceuticals & Medical Device Products.

           Indo-Pacific: The Netherlands issued its guidelines on the Indo-Pacific in 2020 which identifies India as a key partner. India welcomed the guidelines. Both sides recognize the close convergence between each other’s vision for a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific. The Dutch frigate HNLMS Tromp during its visit to the Indo-Pacific made a port call at Mumbai in April 2024. As part of its Indo-Pacific deployment HNLMS De Ruyter made a port call at Kochi in May 2026.

          Trade and Commercial Relations: Trade and Commercial relations form the backbone of our vibrant relationship.  The Netherlands is India’s 11th largest trading partner in the world. It is also India's 3rd largest export destination globally and the largest in Europe. During the F.Y. 2024-2025, the total merchandise trade with the Netherlands stood at USD 27.779 billion. The total merchandise trade with the Netherlands accounts for 2.40% of India’s total merchandise trade. In the F.Y. 2024-2025, India exported USD 22.763 billion (INR 192,118 crores) worth of goods to the Netherlands. The main items of Indian exports to the Netherlands include petroleum products, engineering goods, organic & inorganic chemicals, telecom instruments, electronic goods, drugs and pharmaceuticals, readymade garments of all textiles, leather and leather manufactures, fruits and vegetables, plastic and linoleum, marine products, spices, rice, handicrafts, iron ore, gems and jewellery, ceramic products and glassware, carpet, cereal preparations, oil meals, jute, tea, tobacco, oilseeds and coffee.

          Investment: The Netherlands is the fourth largest investor in India. The cumulative Dutch investments in India from 2000 onwards are around 55.6 billion dollars. Indian companies are also making significant investments in the Netherlands, with total investments amounting to around USD 28 billion. The Netherlands is now the 5th largest destination for Overseas Direct Investment (ODI) by Indian companies.

          There are over 300 Dutch companies present in India, including major players like Philips, Signify, Akzo Nobel, DSM, KLM, Rabobank, Heineken, TomTom, Paques, Boskalis, Van Oord, Damen Shipyards, Vopak, Aegon, etc. Similarly, there are over 300 Indian companies present in the Netherlands, including all the major IT companies such as TCS, HCL, Wipro, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, as well as Tata Steel and others. There are a number of organizations that are active in promoting India-Netherlands trade and investment such as the Netherlands India Chamber of Commerce & Trade (NICCT) and the Indian Business Chamber (IBC).

          Water Management: Cooperation in the water sector has been given a further boost by the decision to institute a ‘Strategic Partnership on Water’, and upgrade the JWG on Water to Ministerial-level during the virtual summit held in April 2021. The 1st Meeting of the Ministerial JWG on Water took place in April 2023 during the visit of then Minister of Water and Infrastructure of the Netherlands, Mr. Mark Harbers, to India. The Netherlands is engaged with various States and Municipalities in India to implement water-related projects including the States of UP (Namami Ganga Programme), Tamil Nadu (water as leverage, water management and conservation) and Kerala (flood management). In May 2026 India and the Netherlands also signed a Letter of Intent for technical cooperation on the Kalpasar project.

          Ports/Shipping/Inland Waterways: India and the Netherlands had signed an MoU in the fields of Ports and Maritime Transport and Logistics in 2008, which was again most recently extended in October 2025. It has a special focus on research and development, shipbuilding, innovation and sustainability. The 2nd  meeting of the JWG on Maritime Cooperation took place in India in October 2025. A Letter of Intent on the establishment of a Green and Digital Sea Corridor connecting Indian ports with the Port of Rotterdam was also signed in October 2025. The maritime sector was one of the focus areas for the Dutch trade delegation, which accompanied the King and Queen of the Netherlands during their state visit to India in 2019.

          Agriculture and Food Processing: Agriculture is one of the core sectors identified by the two sides for enhancing bilateral cooperation. India and Netherlands cooperate on agriculture through a Joint Working Group which is led by Ministries of Agriculture on both sides. The 8th meeting of Indo-Dutch JWG on Agriculture Cooperation was held in the Netherlands in October 2025. As part of agricultural cooperation, India and the Netherlands have signed an action plan which envisages cooperation in establishing 25 Centres of Excellence (CoE) of which 8 CoEs are already functional. India also participated in Floriade 2022, which is an international exhibition and garden festival, held every 10 years in the Netherlands. The two countries have also signed a Joint Declaration on Collaboration in Animal Husbandry and Dairying and announced the establishment of Indo-Dutch Center of Excellence on Training in Dairy at the Center of Excellence for Animal Husbandry (CEAH), Bengaluru in May 2026. 

          Healthcare Cooperation: India and the Netherlands work through a JWG under the MoU for Cooperation in the Field of Healthcare and Public Health to promote global research collaboration in emerging health challenges associated with communicable diseases and antimicrobial resistance. The MoU was most recently extended in 2025. The Joint Working Group on Health is led by the Ministry of Health on both sides. The 5th meeting of this JWG was held virtually in February 2024 and discussions were held on antimicrobial resistance, Covid-19 vaccination, collaboration on digital health, etc. A new MoU in the field of pharmaceuticals and medical device products was signed in June 2025 between the Department of Pharmaceuticals of Government of India and Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports of the Netherlands. A Letter of Intent for cooperation was signed in May 2026 by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) focusing on areas such as infectious diseases, vector borne diseases, One Health and disease surveillance.

          Urban Development and Smart Cities: India and the Netherlands signed an MoU in the field of Spatial Planning, Water Management and Mobility Management in 2013. Under the MoU, both sides cooperate through a JWG led by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, India and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, the Netherlands. The 5th meeting of the JWG was held in May 2025 and discussed cooperation in various fields including in urban development, smart city, waste-to-value projects, geospatial innovation, etc.

          Renewable Energy: India and the Netherlands have a strong cooperation in Renewable Energy. The Netherlands signed the Framework Agreement of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) in May 2018. India is one of the convening countries of the Global Commission on Adaptation (GCA), headquartered in the Netherlands. The Netherlands joined the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) in 2021. PM Modi addressed the Climate Adaptation Summit hosted by the Netherlands in January 2021 and had called for CDRI and GCA to work together to enhance infrastructure resilience globally. An MoU on Renewable Energy was signed between India and the Netherlands on 12 September 2024. The first meeting of the JWG on Renewable Energy was held in Rotterdam on 20 May 2026 on the sidelines of the World Hydrogen Summit. India and the Netherlands have also adopted the development of green hydrogen cooperation.

          S&T and Space: The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) collaborates with major national funders of research in India such as Department of Science and Technology (DST), Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY). India and the Netherlands held the 9^th Meeting of the JWG on Science & Technology in New Delhi in February 2025. ISRO has long standing cooperation with the European Space Agency which has its European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) based in Noordwijk, Netherlands.

          Digital, Semiconductors, Emerging and Critical Technologies: In 2025, India and the Netherlands concluded an MoU concerning the Partnership on Semiconductors and Related Emerging Technologies. Both countries adopted the Joint Declaration of Intent on Enhancing Cooperation in the field of Digital and Cyberspace in 2025. India and the Netherlands have also signed an MoU on cooperation in the field of Critical Minerals in May 2026. An MoC between Technical Universities from the Netherlands (Eindhoven University of Technology & University of Twente) and six Indian Institutes (IITs Bombay, Delhi, Gandhinagar, Guwahati & Madras and IISc Bangalore) was signed in 2025 for Brain Bridge in the field of Semiconductor and related Technologies. In May 2026, Tata Electronics and ASML signed an agreement to partner together for India’s first front-end semiconductor Fab in Gujarat. The Netherlands also participated at the Prime Ministerial-level at the AI Impact Summit hosted by India in February 2026 and endorsed the Summit Declaration, along with the other EU countries.

          Cultural Cooperation: Yoga is very popular in the Netherlands. International Day of Yoga celebrations are organized every year in various cities in the Netherlands in collaboration with various yoga institutions. An ICCR Cultural Centre "The Gandhi Centre" has been functional in The Hague since 2011. The Centre has an active calendar of programmes including Yoga, Bharatnatyam, Tabla, Kathak and Hindi language classes, in addition to various programmes related to Indian culture, including music, dance, workshops, movies, etc. The Gandhi Centre is also engaged in an outreach programme for various Hindu (Surinami-Hindustani) schools in The Hague.

          Restitution of Cultural Artefacts: During the visit of PM Modi to the Netherlands in May 2026, the Leiden University Library restituted the 11th century Chola Copper Plates to the Government of India. Chola Copper Plates, a set of 21 large plates and 3 small plates, are royal charters issued by Chola Kings during the 11th century CE. These charters formalise gifting of Anaimangalam village to a Buddha vihara called Chulamanivarma-vihara in Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu. The Plates contain texts written in Tamil and Sanskrit.

          Indian Community, Students and Education: The Netherlands has the largest population of people of Indian origin in the EU. It is home to approx. 90,000 people of NRI/People of Indian Origin apart from a sizable Surinami Hindustani community, now completely integrated in Dutch society, which is estimated to be over 200,000 strong. India and the Netherlands concluded an MoU on Mobility and Migration in May 2026 strengthening bilateral cooperation in these areas. 

          The Netherlands is a popular education destination for Indian students, particularly in the field of science & technology. Many Dutch Universities like TU Delft, Leiden University and Maastricht University, have long standing collaboration with Indian universities. The number of Indian students has been growing over the years, and more than 3500 Indian students are studying in the Netherlands presently.

          To strengthen the cooperation in higher education, India and the Netherlands concluded an MoU on Higher Education in May 2026. There is also on-going institutional cooperation between Dutch and Indian Universities across several fields of education and research.

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As on 27 July 2026.