Modi, Dutch PM to hold bilateral summit on Thursday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a bilateral summit with his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte here on Thursday during which all issues of interest between the India and the Netherlands will be discussed.

The meeting will be held soon after Rutte's arrival here on Thursday morning on a two-day visit to India.

The Dutch leader's visit comes within a year of Modi's visit to The Netherlands last June.

This will also be Rutte's second visit to India since June 2015, but the first after being re-elected as Prime Minister in 2017.

Rutte will be accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality Carola Schouten, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Sigrid Kaag, Minister for Infrastructure and Water Management Cora van Nieuwenhuizen, and Minister for Medical Care Bruno Bruins.

According to an External Affairs Ministry statement, over 230 business delegates representing 130 companies have registered to join the trade mission accompanying Rutte to India.

"The companies joining the trade mission represent the agrifood, horticulture, logistics, education, smart cities, water, health and life sciences, IT, and maritime sectors," the statement said, adding that the India-Dutch CEOs forum will be held in New Delhi.

Apart from the summit meeting with Modi, Rutte will participate in a business meeting, a CEOs round table and couple of other environment-related events.

From New Delhi, Rutte will visit Bengaluru, where he will visit the ISRO campus on Friday among other activities.

India and The Netherlands have a bilateral trade of $7.621 billion (April 2017-Feb 2018). The Netherlands is the fifth largest investor in India with a cumulative investment of $23 billion for the period 2000 to Dec 2017.

The Netherlands is also home to a 235,000-strong Indian Diaspora, the largest in mainland Europe.

Rutte's visit is expected to boost the economic and political cooperation between India and The Netherlands.

--IANS

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