Terrorism finds an echo in talks between Jaishankar, Dutch PM
India continues its global campaign against terrorism as External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar announced that the issue figured in talks between him and Netherlands Prime Minister Dick Schoof on Tuesday.
This is Jaishankar’s first foreign tour after the Pahalgam terror attack. He visited the Netherlands within a month of Veldkamp’s trip to India in April, which was aimed at driving cooperation in areas ranging from trade to defence and green technologies.
Taking to X, Jaishankar announced, “Delighted to call on PM Dick Schoof today in The Hague. Conveyed the warm greetings of PM Narendra Modi and thanked him for the Netherlands’ firm and resolute stance against terrorism. Appreciate his commitment to taking the India-Netherlands partnership to newer heights. Assured that our teams will work hard to achieve these goals.”
The official communique from the MEA stated that in his meeting with Schoof, Jaishankar “conveyed India's appreciation for the statement of solidarity from the Netherlands in the fight against terrorism.”
Both sides expressed satisfaction at the growing strategic convergences in the India-Netherlands relationship, and agreed to further strengthen bilateral ties through regular high-level visits and exchanges, it added.
In his meeting with Netherlands’ Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp, Jaishankar reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation, and regional and global matters of mutual interest, the statement said. Both the ministers expressed satisfaction over the progress in diverse sectors, including trade, economy, science and technology, water, agriculture, health, education, culture and people-to-people ties. They also discussed ways of increasing collaboration in new and emerging sectors of digital technology, semiconductors, AI, and green hydrogen, it said.
Both the sides also agreed to further strengthen cooperation in the defence sector. In his meeting with Defence Minister Ruben Brekelmans, Jaishankar discussed opportunities to take forward the defence and security cooperation between the two countries to the next level, the statement said.
Jaishankar also addressed leading strategic and international affairs experts from Dutch think tanks. The discussions focused on reasons for India, Netherlands and European Union (EU) engaging more deeply in an era of multi-polarity and strategic autonomy. He also interacted with the Indian diaspora in the Netherlands.
