The Netherlands Foreign Affairs Minister Caspar Veldkamp is in New Delhi on a two-day official visit to meet his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar and discuss wide-ranging bilateral issues such as trade & investment, the proposed India-EU free trade agreement (FTA), water management and agriculture.
“A warm welcome to FM Caspar Veldkamp, of Netherlands on his first official visit to India. This visit will further strengthen multifaceted relationship,” Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiwal posted on social media platform `X’ on Monday.
After the new government was formed in the Netherlands in July 2024 under Prime Minister Dick Schoof, Jaishankar met Veldkamp on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York in September 2024
A number of issues such as bilateral co-operation, expectations from the India-EU FTA with a year-end deadline for completion, joint efforts in water management, scope in agriculture, other trade and investment matters, as well as regional & global developments, are likely to be discussed by the two sides during the visit.
Veldkamp is scheduled to leave Delhi late on Tuesday night, in line with the Ministry of External Affairs schedule.
Veldkamp’s visit follows the visit of Dutch Defence Minister Ruben Brekelmans to India earlier this month; Brekelmans met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and also participated in the Raisina Dialogue
The Netherlands is India’s 11th largest merchandise trading partner and the largest in the European Union. During FY 2024, the total merchandise trade with the Netherlands stood at $27.341 billion. India has a trade surplus of $17.393 billion with the Netherlands, according to government figures.