PM Modi was received at the airport by Rear Admiral Ludger Brummelaar, Adjutant General and Head of the Military Household of His Majesty the King; Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen; and Indian Ambassador to the Netherlands Kumar Tuhi. Photo credit: X@narendramodi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in the Netherlands on Friday (May 15, 2026) for the second leg of his five-nation tour, during which he will hold talks with his Dutch counterpart Rob Jetten to further deepen bilateral cooperation in areas such as trade, technology, defense and renewable energy.
Also Read: PM Modi Netherlands visit LIVE
PM Modi was received at the airport by Rear Admiral Ludger Brummelaar, Adjutant General and Head of the Military Household of His Majesty the King; Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen; and Indian Ambassador to the Netherlands Kumar Tuhin along with other senior officials of the Dutch government.
“He landed in Amsterdam. This visit to the Netherlands comes at a time when the India-EU Free Trade Agreement has given a major boost to trade and investment ties,” the Prime Minister said in a social media post shortly after his arrival.
“It offers an opportunity to deepen relationships in areas such as semiconductors, water, clean energy and more,” he added.
Mr Modi said he would hold talks with Prime Minister Jetten and invite King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima.
The Prime Minister also said he was looking forward to speaking at a community program during the visit.
In a social media post, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the visit would provide “an opportunity to further strengthen India-Netherlands multilateral partnership and engage with the largest Indian diaspora in mainland Europe”.
Mr. Modi arrived in the Netherlands after a brief stopover of approximately two and a half hours in the United Arab Emirates, where he held talks with the President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in Abu Dhabi.
The prime minister’s May 15-17 visit to the European country is his second trip to the country after his visit in 2017 and comes at what officials have described as an “important moment” in India-Dutch ties.
Mr. Modi is also expected to interact with top Dutch business leaders during the visit.
MEA officials said the visit carries a “rich and substantial agenda” and is expected to cement the strategic dimensions of the partnership that have emerged through the two countries’ sustained engagement.
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.
The partnership has grown across strategic sectors, including technology, innovation, defence, security, semiconductors, renewable energy, education and maritime, the MEA said.
The Netherlands is one of India’s top trade destinations in Europe with bilateral trade worth USD 27.8 billion in 2024-25. It is also India’s fourth-largest investor, with cumulative foreign direct investment of $55.6 billion, officials said.
People-to-people ties remain a key pillar of bilateral relations.
The Netherlands is home to more than 90,000 non-resident Indians and persons of Indian origin, in addition to more than 200,000 members of the Surinamese-Hindustani community. Around 3,500 Indian students are currently enrolled in Dutch universities.
Officials noted that Mr. Modi’s visit to the Netherlands and three other European countries — Sweden, Norway and Italy — comes against the backdrop of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement finalized earlier this year and the India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement signed in 2025.
Published – 16 May 2026 07:02 IST
