Shri Rajesh Uike, Director (XPD): Good evening everyone. I welcome you all to this Special Media Briefing on the ongoing state visit of Honorable President to the Netherlands and for that I have the pleasure to introduce to you sitting with me here, Shri Sanjay Verma, Secretary (West); Press Secretary to the President, Shri Ajay Kumar Singh; Ambassador of India to the Netherlands, Smt. Reenat Sandhu; and Joint Secretary in the MEA who looks after Netherland, Shri Sandeep Chakraborty. Now, I would like to invite Secretary West Sir to brief you about the visit and to give the sense of the visit and what had happened so far.
Shri Sanjay Verma, Secretary (West): Well, thank you. I will share with you the larger contours of the visit. And then I will invite my colleagues, the Ambassador, Ms. Reenat Sandhu to share her thoughts about the visit. Shri Ajay Singh, the press advisor to Rashtrapati Ji will also share his views and opinion on what has been undertaken during the state visit over the last two days. Let me set the context. The India-Netherlands partnership is significant, not just in content, but also in terms of the pace or the momentum generated by the periodic meetings between our leadership. You will recollect that the Prime Minister of Netherlands, Mark Rutte, visited India in 2015 and 2018. Our Prime Minister visited Netherlands in 2017. And in 2021, that is last year, there was a virtual summit. Except 2020 for obvious reasons, when there was no high level engagement, but continuously for the last few years we have been engaging at the very highest political levels, indicating the intensity and the convergence of issues between India and Netherlands.
This visit by Rashtrapati Ji was after 34 years since the last Presidential visit. Rashtrapati Ji and the First Lady were here on the invitation of the King of Netherlands, Alexander Willem and Queen Maxima. The state visit was from the 4th April and has effectively with the last cultural event this evening, concluded. We depart for India tomorrow. The main elements of the visit, as all state visits include, as I said, the ceremonial aspect which is the ceremonial welcome; the banquet hosted by the King and Queen of Netherlands; laying of wreath at the national monument for the heroes of Netherlands. There was a tete-a-tete with our host, the King of Netherlands, followed by a private lunch yesterday. Today, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands had a tete-a-tete with Rashtrapati Ji, followed by a lunch, which was both functional and with a foresight of laying the directions in a futuristic manner. There were six Indian entrepreneurs in the knowledge arena, fulfilling the WAH agenda, which is the Water Agricultural Health agenda between India and the Netherlands. These six entrepreneurs, they are Indian origin, they've studied in India, but have made Netherlands a home for business purposes and the subjects in which the start-ups are working are artificial intelligence, agritech, medical robotics, geospatial data, climate smart agriculture and assisting medical technology. To give you an example, when we say medical robotics, it is using robots for surgery; geospatial data is using data emerging out of weather patterns, cloud formation, etc. to assist farmers in anticipating climatic changes; and assisted medical technology, the example we saw today was for the visually challenged spectacle, which, when directed towards any written text, reproduces the text in the oral form. So if you have a sight challenge, you wear that and it would read out what is written to somebody who has visual impairment. So this was futuristic in the sense that they are all based on AI, they are start-ups and by that definition, are knowledge based, and would include all futuristic technologies.
It was a very special lunch, and was made special because the Prime Minister of Netherlands showcased the six Indian entrepreneurs, suggesting both a bilateral agenda, at the same time, projecting the incubation advantages that Netherlands has in this space. Apart from that, there were four agreements which were signed on the side-lines of the visit. The first is the extension of MoU and bilateral cooperation in the field of Ports, Maritime Transport and Logistics. Number two, Extension of the Program of Cooperation between the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India and Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation of Netherlands. Third was the MOU for the Cosmos Malabaricus Project between Leiden University and the Kerala Council of Historical Research and the National Archives of Netherlands on digitizing 17th century archives and making them available to Indian and International Researchers. And fourth was the extension of MoU with State Archives Department Kerala, and National Archives of Netherlands on the execution of shared cultural heritage.
During the course of discussions, both with the King, with the Prime Minister, and the interaction that Rashtrapati Ji had with the Presidents of the Senate of Netherlands and the House of Representatives, issues of regional, bilateral and international concerns were discussed. It is no surprise that Ukraine was also discussed and Rashtrapati Ji did bring to the notice of the Netherlands side that India has taken a side in the Ukraine issue and the side is the side of peace, the side of cessation of hostilities, of urging that diplomacy and dialogue is the only way out of this conflict. And also Rashtrapati Ji shared that the reports coming out of Bucha, where civilian casualties have been reported, have been deeply disturbing for India, and that India unequivocally condemns these killings and has urged and supports independent investigation into this loss of life of civilians early this week.
The other aspect of the visit was marking of 75 years of India-Netherlands diplomatic ties using the national symbol of Netherlands, the Tulip. And the Netherlands side, as a special gesture, they bred a unique breed of tulips on this occasion, and the honor to inaugurate or make public this breed was extended to our First Lady and we on our part, named the Tulip variety as Maitri which again reemphasizes the friendship between India and Netherlands. Incidentally, in history, the India-Netherlands story goes back 400 years ago, with the establishment of the Dutch East India Company. This evening, as a concluding element of the visit was Kalakshetra performance of the Ramayana by 35 of the artists who have flown in from India especially for celebrating 75 years of Indian independence. So, this was part of our Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, and this was graced by the King and Queen of Netherlands. So, we were the host. We, as in the Ministry of External Affairs and ICCR, of this grand event, which was seen not only by the opinion makers, and the business community, and the writers and media of Netherlands, but also the diplomatic core of this wonderful capital city. I've shared with you the broader aspects of this visit and I would invite first my colleague, the Ambassador of India in Netherlands, Ms. Reenat Sandhu to share her perspective on this extremely successful visit which has been suffused with the warmth and hospitality and a lot of goodwill.
Ms. Reenat Sandhu, Ambassador of India to the Netherlands: Thank you, Sanjay. Well I share your assessment that the President was received very warmly, by the King and the Queen and by the Prime Minister here. This morning, they also had a meeting with the Senate President and the President of the House of Representatives. And I think across the board, there was a lot of warmth and goodwill towards India and a commitment to strengthen the bilateral partnership. The visit has helped to reaffirm the value that both sides attach to India-Netherlands relations. It highlighted our convergence in a number of areas, especially on the bilateral side. As you pointed out, both sides demonstrated a commitment to further strengthen our cooperation in the priority sectors of water, agriculture and health. In Science and Technology, Research and Innovation, given the complementarities that exist, and the strong ecosystem that is there in Netherlands; this was highlighted as an important area where both the countries can partner. And then of course, the economic relationship which is a cornerstone of our growing cooperation. There are large number of Dutch companies that are present in India and Indian companies, which are working here and the investments, which are growing. Netherlands is one of our largest investors in India. So the economic relationship is extremely important.
The visit also highlighted convergence on regional and international issues. We both believe in a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific. We have similar shared concerns about climate change and sustainability. And there is a lot of work that is going on in this area of climate change and renewable energy where, again, Netherlands has considerable strengths. So overall, an excellent visit. And you know, across the board, all the meetings highlighted a very strong commitment on both sides to further strengthen this cooperation. And I would like to add that the Dutch Foreign Minister will be going to India for the Raisina Dialogue in April, and he was there at the naming of the Tulip ceremony, which showed that the kind of importance they are attaching to this partnership. Thank you.
Shri Sanjay Verma, Secretary (West): Well, thank you Reenat. If I can now invite the media advisor to Rashtrapati Ji Shri Ajay Kumar Singh to share his views about this visit.
Shri Ajay Kumar Singh, Press Secretary to the President of India: Thank you, Sanjay. I think after this kind of extensive briefing, I don't need to add anything, anything more. So I don't have anything to say.
Shri Sanjay Verma, Secretary (West): If I may add, in terms of the reception and the welcome and the participation of the leadership of Netherlands, it has been a fulsome and an outstanding visit in the sense that the entire cabinet was present at the banquet last evening, and this was to honor Rashtrapati Ji, this was to honor India, and also to suggest that the India-Netherlands story has several aspects to it. And the presence of the ministers and the discussions we had, as delegates, with them in the course of the visit, have proven very fruitful and are suggesting that the way ahead will get even more intense because apart from Indo-Pacific, there is convergence on cooperation in the European Union. Our trade and investment talks or the negotiation process, which will begin shortly, has the full support of our hosts. And this was reiterated several times during the visit. Sandeep Chakraborty is Joint Secretary (Europe West), I would invite him to share his views on the visit.
Shri Sandeep Chakraborty, Joint Secretary (EW): Point, which I wanted to mention is the strategic partnership on water, the joint statement was signed just a few days before and even in all the discussions all the leaders mentioned that I think water will be one of the major agendas of our cooperation. And interestingly in today's discussion, the Prime Minister of Netherlands, referred to the WAH agenda and said WAH means awesome in Hindi, and our relationship is really awesome. I think that gave a different kind of a connotation to the intensity of our relationship. And what Secretary West and Ambassador mentioned was the focus on start-ups. And I think another focus, which comes concomitantly was the focus on youth and I think, in the lunch both the leaders raised toast to the youth of both the country. I think that is another element, which we will see much more in focus in the coming months and years.
Shri Sanjay Verma, Secretary (West): Well, thank you.
Speaker 1: (inaudible) Dutch House of Representatives has made India as a focus country for next three years, in which area?
Shri Sanjay Verma, Secretary (West): Well, thank you. Well, let me let me point out here that the interaction of Rashtrapati Ji with the President of the Senate and the House of Representatives did not take place in the Senate because that is under renovation or repairs, it was a neutral venue. But in any case, the interaction was more important to your question. And we happily share with you that the discussion centered around the desire on both sides to increase cooperation in the legislative space that the lawmakers should meet more often. And in context of the focus on India in the next three years, the desire and the directions, which Rashtrapati Ji also gave the delegates and to our hosts is that we should increase our interaction at the lawmakers’ level. Apart from that, Ukraine did come up as well as a Consular issue which was probably hard to miss while you were here. It involves the case pursued by a estranged wife against her former husband, who is said to have taken their daughter to India, and this is a sub-judice matter in India. So, there is a very limited scope for the executive in India, including Rashtrapati Ji to have any impact or any role, but Rashtrapati Ji did give us directions, that within the limitations and confines of the case as it stands, legally, if there is any way we can provide some comfort to the mother, that can be pursued. But again, this case, has been in the media, has come up in the Parliament in Netherlands and for this reason, it was raised by His Majesty, by the Prime Minister, as well as the two Presidents and that has been our response to this question. And Ukraine, I've already shared that was also a subject matter of discussion. This was it.
Speaker 2: (inaudible)
Shri Sanjay Verma, Secretary (West): You are right, we probably have the third highest number of startups in the world. The immediate lesson we can take away from the startup ecosystem in the Netherlands is the incubation centers; because all the six young Indian entrepreneurs spoke very highly of the comfort level and the ease with which they have sort of slipped into you know, sort of rooting their enterprises and successfully bringing it to scale. But what was also unique was that all six of them had India in mind. So even while you may be in Netherlands, for some very obvious advantages, ultimately, the success of your venture would depend on the scale and size and the challenges present in a country like India. So, if India is the target of your business, then it is a matter of time before we ourselves will be able to provide and afford ecosystem which serves our needs. But till that happens with friendly countries like Netherlands, I think we would cooperate happily and why not because the Indian diaspora, our outstanding talent coming out of our engineering colleges, management schools, science institutes, are travelling overseas also probably for higher education. And they somewhere feel the need to get back to India. And for that reason, I think today was a great example of that relationship of Indian educated youth using the entrepreneurship available in advanced capitals of the world. But they're firmly rooted in India, (inaudible) because that is where the market is, that is where the numbers are going to come out, that is from where the big data would come out. On water, agriculture and health if I can ask Sandeep, my colleague to share some details.
Shri Sandeep Chakraborty, Joint Secretary (EW): Water is the focus of our bilateral relationship. On water as I mentioned, the Strategic Partnership on water has been announced and we met with the water infrastructure minister. He has invited our Jal Shakti Minister. A few days back, they had a virtual meeting. So there will be lots of activity on the water agenda, particularly the Netherlands is involved in the cleaning of the Ganga, that is one aspect which was highlighted by all the leaders. On agriculture, there is a project of establishing centers of excellence, the target is 25 by 2025, we already have 7 which are functional, and now the effort is to put up the others. On health, the focus is on digital health. And also the Dutch interest is in AMR. And I think on that, also, there has been some cooperation in vaccines and Serum Institute has acquired a company in Netherlands and I think that will start playing a big role in research and development of vaccines. So I think it's a very populated agenda. And today, Prime Minister had said that, you know, now we should involve more youth in enhancing this agenda.
Speaker 3: (Inaudible) In person, but this has been the visit of the President after 34 years. Now, the Foreign Minister who's also the Deputy Prime Minister will be travelling to India, in view of the Raisina dialogue. How important is this visit?
Shri Sanjay Verma, Secretary (West): Well, I won’t say Raisina dialogue would only derive from our close relations with Netherlands. The Raisina dialogue in itself is a standout platform in the foreign policy space. It’s organized by the Ministry of External Affairs and the Observer Research Foundation, ORF, which today is among the top five or six think tanks of the world. So that in itself is a very attractive platform. And in the last few weeks, the developments which have happened in Europe, have seized the attention. And for that reason, I think, in many ways, the Raisina dialogue would be the first available multilateral Think Tank opportunity available to anybody in the foreign policy space. And for that reason, till the last count, I think we almost had 10 Foreign Ministers visiting India, for the Raisina dialogue. And it's going to be a very lively three days of interaction. And, you know, what will be on the menu, it's very obvious, and I think one will hear a lot, there'll be a lot of discussions. And hopefully, we will actually see some peace in Ukraine, durable peace by then. Raisina dialogue is on, I think, 25th.
Speaker 4: (Inaudible)
Ms. Reenat Sandhu, Ambassador of India to the Netherlands: It is about the strength of the People to People connections, and the ties that we have at the Indian community level. And this also came out at each and every interaction we had with the Dutch leadership. They were very appreciative of the contribution of the Indian community in multiple fields, and my colleagues have mentioned about youth. So the students coming here, they were very welcoming and very appreciative of the students coming and how we can build further collaboration in the education and the research side as well. So that was, I think, also a very important thing, which perhaps you have covered the Indian community event and you saw today the kind of vibrant community that we have here. Thank you.
Shri Rajesh Uike, Director (XPD): If there is no further question, Sir, with your permission, I would like to conclude this Special Media Briefing. Thank you, Sir. Thank you, Ma'am. Thank you everybody. Good night.