India, Netherlands eye ambitious pact on critical technologies

New Delhi, Apr 1 (PTI) India and the Netherlands are looking at firming up an ambitious agreement this year to facilitate cooperation in high technology areas such as semiconductors, Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said on Tuesday.

In a media interaction, Veldkamp said the Netherlands is also eyeing to firm up a strategic partnership with India as it is emerging as a major geopolitical power in the Indo-Pacific.

"We want to conclude a strategic partnership with India," he said.

Veldkamp is on a two-day visit to India.

The Dutch foreign minister, answering a question on US President Donald Trump's tariff policy, said India and the European Union should work closely in dealing with challenges in the economic front.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held wide-ranging talks with Veldkamp on Monday, focusing on bilateral cooperation in areas of trade and investments, defence and security, innovation, and people-to-people ties.

They also noted the vast potential of cooperation between India and the Netherlands in new and emerging areas including semiconductors, digital technologies, renewable energy, green hydrogen, and migration and mobility of youth, an Indian readout said.

Veldkamp is also scheduled to meet National Security Adviser Ajit Doval.

The Dutch minister sounded confident that the long-pending India-EU free trade pact will be inked by this year and it will significantly boost two-way trade.

He said the Netherlands and India can cooperate in the semiconductor sector as well as under a broader framework of cooperation in the high-technology sector.

The Dutch minister said his country is also keen to expand defence cooperation with India, especially in the Indo-Pacific.

On Defence Minister Rajnath Singh last month asking his Dutch counterpart Ruben Brekelmans not to supply military hardware to Pakistan, Veldkamp indicated that his country's military exports to Islamabad are not very significant.

"When it comes to Pakistan, you see that the number of export licences that are declined is way higher than the numbers approved," he said.

"For India, there is almost a 100 per cent approval rate," the Dutch foreign minister told PTI.

"We are willing very much also to export to India and continue to cooperate in defence and defence technology, and military cooperation and exercises for example in the maritime domain," he said.

At a meeting last month with Brekelmans in Delhi, Singh asked not to equip the Pakistani military with weapons and systems.

On India-Netherlands economic ties, Veldkamp said: "We see India as a very important partner with huge economic dynamism, innovation and creativity." PTI MPB KVK KVK

Source: PTI