Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit in May 2026 further strengthened this future-oriented partnership and India’s engagement with Europe.
The India-Dutch partnership is built on strong historical ties and expanding strategic cooperation. It combines Dutch strengths in frontier technologies with India’s scale and innovation ecosystem. Cooperation is growing in semiconductors, green hydrogen, maritime technology, and skilled mobility. The partnership is also important for global governance, economic resilience, and sustainable development. It reflects shared economic interests, technological collaboration, and common global ambitions.
Strategic and Geopolitical Context: The Netherlands today engages India not as a market alone, but as a major power. The Dutch ecosystem of frontier technology paired with India’s scale of deployment defines a partnership of “innovation meets scale,” visible most strikingly in semiconductors, water, hydrogen and maritime technology.
Trade, Investment and EU FTA Gateway: The Netherlands is one of India’s largest trade destinations in Europe, with bilateral trade worth USD 27.8 billion (2024-25). It is the fourth largest investor in India with a cumulative FDI of USD 55.6 billion. The total merchandise trade with the Netherlands accounts for 2.46% of India’s total merchandise trade. India has a trade surplus of USD 17.393 billion (INR 144,095 crores) with the Netherlands.
There are over 300 Dutch companies present in India and over 300 Indian companies present in the Netherlands. Organisations like the Netherlands India Chamber of Commerce & Trade (NICCT) and the Indian Business Chamber (IBC) promote bilateral trade and investment between the economies.
Semiconductor Collaboration: In 2024, India and the Netherlands forged a partnership to revolutionise India’s semiconductor sector through skill development, training programmes, collaborative research and development and promoting start-ups and entrepreneurship in the sector.
Energy Security & Clean Energy: India and the Netherlands have been working together to scale up the joint ambition for climate change mitigation and adaptation. The two countries have been working together on connecting stakeholders; ensuring knowledge transfer; technology co-development; exchange of best practices; end-to-end infrastructure development and operational safety. The key areas of collaboration are promoting the use of green hydrogen and developing green ports.
Mobility, Diaspora and Tourism: The Netherlands has the second largest population of people of Indian origin in Europe (next only to the UK). It is home to about 240,000 members of the Indian Diaspora, including approximately 20,0000 members of the Hindustani-Surinami community wholly integrated into Dutch society. Both sides are working to streamline migration and mobility.
The India–Netherlands partnership has evolved from strong historical ties into a future-oriented strategic collaboration. Prime Minister Modi’s visit marked a significant step in deepening this comprehensive partnership and strengthening India’s engagement with Europe in an increasingly multipolar world.
