Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday (May 16, 2026) called India a “land of opportunity” and said the country was undergoing an “unprecedented transformation” and its aspirations were “no longer confined to its borders”.
Addressing the Indian community at The Hague, the Prime Minister also said that India dreams big and its youth aspires to reach the sky.
Mr. Modi also met Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima on Saturday (May 16, 2026) and discussed issues of mutual interest. He is also due to meet his Dutch counterpart Rob Jetten.
“We met His Majesty King Willem-Alexander and Her Majesty Queen Máxima at the Royal Palace. It was a wonderful exchange of views on strengthening India-Dutch friendship across key sectors like technology, innovation, sustainable growth, trade and water resources,” Mr Modi wrote on X after the meeting. He said India and the Netherlands “are united by common interests and a shared belief in building a future-ready planet”.
The two sides noted close cooperation in the areas of sustainability, climate action, digital technology, innovation, fintech and blue economy and expressed determination to further strengthen India-Netherlands relations, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X.
The Netherlands also handed back copper plates from the 11th century Chola dynasty to India at an event attended by Mr Modi, marking a strengthening of ties between the two countries. The 21 copper plates, which belonged to the time of Rajaraja Chola I and were brought to the Netherlands in the 1700s from present-day Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu, which was then under Dutch control, are considered the most important surviving records of the Chola dynasty and are among the important artifacts of Tamil heritage held anywhere outside the country. India has been seeking the return of the plates, known in the Netherlands as Leiden plates, since 2012.
Trust and transparency
The prime minister’s visit to the European country is his second trip to the country after a tour in 2017 and comes at what officials have described as an “important moment” for India-Dutch ties.
Foreign Ministry officials said the visit carries a “rich and substantial agenda” and is expected to cement the strategic dimensions of the partnership that has emerged through the continued engagement of the two countries.
In recent years, India and the Netherlands have significantly expanded cooperation beyond traditional sectors such as trade, investment and the priority areas of water, agriculture and health.
Mr Modi arrived in the Netherlands on Friday (May 15) – after a brief stopover in the United Arab Emirates – on the second leg of his five-nation tour to further deepen bilateral cooperation in areas such as trade, technology, defense and renewable energy. Other countries on the official tour include Sweden, Norway and Italy.
Emphasizing that India and the Netherlands are working together to create a trusted, transparent and future-ready supply chain, Mr. Modi told the Indian diaspora in his more than 40-minute speech that the Netherlands will become a “natural gateway” for Indian businesses to enter Europe, adding that the Indian diaspora can serve as a trusted bridge along the way.
“From energy security to water security, the Netherlands and India are working together. Our cooperation on green hydrogen is very important. And the historic trade agreement between India and the EU will further strengthen the partnership between India and the Netherlands,” he added.
He urged all the “friends of India” in the European country to increase cooperation with India as much as possible. “This will also increase India’s potential and the return on your investment will also be higher. This is Modi’s guarantee,” he said to applause from the audience.
“Our India has big dreams today. Today this country is saying – we don’t just want transformation, we want the best. And we don’t just want the best, we want the fastest. And therefore, when aspirations are limitless in India, efforts also become limitless,” he said.
Mr Modi also said that many cultures have disappeared over time, but India’s diverse culture “still beats in the hearts of its people”. “Generations have changed, countries have changed, environments have changed… but family values have not changed,” he said, appealing to the Indian community to connect with their ancestral villages in India. “21st century India is a land of opportunity. India is driven by both technology and humanity. India is becoming as modern as it is ancient. Hence, it is also time to connect with your ancestral villages in India and participate in the journey of developed India,” he said.
The Prime Minister assured the diaspora that the Government of India stands firmly behind every Indian living abroad and remains committed to their welfare.
Referring to the COVID pandemic, global conflicts and the energy crisis caused by the ongoing conflict in West Asia, Mr Modi said the decade was becoming a “decade of challenges” for the world. “If these situations do not change quickly, the achievements of the past decades will be washed away. The vast majority of the world’s population will once again slide into the mire of poverty,” he warned.
Technical progress
Emphasizing that India is currently undergoing an “unprecedented transformation”, Mr Modi said: “Recently, you must have seen that India hosted the world’s largest and most successful AI summit. Before that, India also successfully hosted the G-20 summit. And it was not a one-time event. This has now become the character of India today.”
Mr Modi said India’s youth now want to touch the sky and cited this as the reason India’s startup ecosystem has strengthened. “We are now the third largest startup ecosystem in the world,” he added. “India’s current ambitions are no longer limited to its borders. India wants to host the Olympics, become a global manufacturing hub, become a leader in green energy and become the world’s growth engine,” he said.
“India has reached the moon where no one has gone before,” he said, referring to India’s space mission. India made history when its Chandrayaan-3 mission successfully made a soft landing on the far side of the moon – often referred to as the “dark side” – in 2023.
Mr. Modi praised the “remarkable work” of Indian startups, saying the country now has nearly 125 active unicorn startups, up from just four in 2014. “Today, our startups are doing remarkable work in AI, defense and the space sector. This culture of research and innovation is becoming even more expansive,” he said.
Mr. Modi also said that the two countries are doing a lot together in the field of sports. Appreciating the Indian community’s contribution to Dutch cricket, he said, “We all feel great when we see Teja Nidamanura and Vikramjit Singh in the Netherlands jersey, or when young players like Aryan Dutt contribute to the future of Dutch cricket.”
Pointing out that the Netherlands is known for its tulips, Mr. Modi said India is known for its lotus. “The tulips and the lotus teach us that whether the roots are in the water or on the earth, with proper nutrition one gains beauty and strength,” he said, adding that this is also the basis of the India-Netherlands partnership.
Festive atmosphere
Mr. Modi, who was given a warm and colorful welcome by a large gathering on his arrival in the Netherlands, expressed his gratitude to the Indian diaspora and India’s friends in the country. He said he forgot for a moment that he was in the Netherlands. “It feels like there’s a festival going on somewhere in India.”
Mr Modi emphasized the relevance of May 16 to the audience as his party won India’s general election 12 years ago on that day, adding that “a stable and absolute majority government should have been established in India after decades”.
Mr. Modi said he had been painted “in the color of patriotism” since his youth. “When I look back, 13 years as chief minister (of Gujarat), 12 years as prime minister, continuous support of millions and millions of voters for 25 years in a democratic world is very lucky for me,” he said.
