Special briefing by MEA on the visit of Prime Minister to the Netherlands (May 16, 2026)

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I welcome you to this special press briefing on Prime Minister's ongoing visit to the Netherlands.

We have with us Shri Sibi George, Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs, to brief us on the developments of this visit of the Prime Minister so far. We are also joined by our ambassador to the Netherlands, Ambassador Tuhin Kumar, and Additional Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs, Shri Piyush Srivastava. With that, I hand over the floor to Secretary (West) to take us through the developments of the day. Sir, over to you.

Shri Sibi George, Secretary (West): Thank you. Thank you, Randhir. We, as Randhir said, have our Ambassador here, and also Additional Secretary who is in charge of Netherlands also present here today. We are just coming back from the official dinner hosted by His Excellency the Prime Minister of Netherlands. Just came straight from there.

I would like to state that it was a great visit. So happy to see the outcome. A large number of agreements, very significant agreements, MoUs, and decisions taken during the visit. So, it was a wonderful visit. Before I go over each of the items, I wanted to summarize that it has been a great visit and a lot of positivity, a lot of energy in engagement. I could feel it.

Particularly some of the major decisions like you are aware of the Tata-ASML, the agreement which was signed on the semiconductors, which is a major development. You have also seen the decision in terms of the Chola copper plates exchange. You know, each of these we have issued separate press releases which are already available. In terms of outcomes, I'm told that at least there are 17 outcome documents and decisions which I would brief you during the course of the briefing today.

So let me begin by also now getting into the sequence of the events. As you are aware, Hon'ble Prime Minister is currently visiting Netherlands after a gap of nine years. There has been a significant momentum in the bilateral relationship across sectors which was reflected in Prime Minister's comprehensive and fully packed engagements and productive discussions with the Dutch leadership.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji arrived in The Hague late in the evening yesterday and received a very warm welcome from the Indian diaspora upon his arrival. Members of the diaspora organized special cultural performances drawing Prime Minister's appreciation.

Today, Prime Minister Modi started his engagements by addressing a large gathering of Indian diaspora which included the Suriname-Hindustani community in the Netherlands, one of Europe's largest Indian-origin communities. Thereafter, Hon'ble Prime Minister called on Their Majesties, the King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima. Prime Minister shared reforms that happened in India over the last few years, past decade, and also the transformational changes that have happened in India during the last few years, and our march towards a Viksit Bharat, a developed India 2047. They expressed satisfaction with the progress in bilateral relationship and discussed ways to further strengthen it. Their Majesties also hosted a luncheon in honour of the Prime Minister, which was attended also by ministers and business leaders.

Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Jetten then participated in the Chola copper plates restitution ceremony, which again we have issued a press release on that. The two sets of copper plates, 21 large and three small each, bearing royal charters of Emperors Rajendra Chola I and Kulothunga Chola I, a cultural treasure for us that are being returned to India by the Netherlands. This is in line with the Prime Minister's vision of 'Vikas Bhi Aur Virasat Bhi'. We thank the government of the Netherlands and others who are involved in, and also the Leiden University for their support in this project.

The two Prime Ministers then attended the signing of the partnership agreement between Tata Electronics and ASML, which I mentioned in the beginning, supporting the semiconductor fab in Dholera. ASML's first such partnership with India. This is a significant step in advancing India's semiconductor ecosystem. Those who are following India's economic transformation would know that in the last few years, there has been a complete transformation in the semiconductor industry in India. Now we are moving ahead with significant progress in that field. This would be a major development in that direction particularly with our fab coming up in Dholera.

Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister of Netherlands then addressed top Dutch industry leaders at the CEOs round table. 16 top CEOs from the Netherlands attended, spanning the sectors of semiconductors, maritime, renewable energy, healthcare, and logistics. In fact, I was noticing... each one of them came up with... they focused on several areas of that have been identified in which we have also made progress in the past. In fact, many of these companies are already present in India, doing very well in India, and what we are looking at is scaling it up in India.

See, with the transformation in India over the last few years, economic reforms, transformation, and the performance of the economy, things have changed. A lot of development. What is required now is kind of a quantum leap in the engagement so that we can scale it up. And that is exactly what I saw today in this business engagement.

The topics came up on semiconductors, robotics, AI, research in many areas, startups, co-creation, value chain. Many of the companies also focused on the talent, which is another important point of Innovate in India, for India, and for the world. These are some of the discussions. Again, GIFT City, the project which we are doing in Gujarat, which again came up and they wanted to engage with that. India is seen as a talent engine. These are some of the points which were discussed. Talent partnership, global mobility, skills.

Then another topic of discussion was on the infrastructure, logistics, sustainability, scalable proposition, and 2047 transformation. You know, they all want to be part of India's transformational journey. Grow together, India and Netherlands growing together.

See, in this Amrit Kaal journey which we have, when India is moving to become a developed country by 2047, we have several partners, and Netherlands is one such very reliable partners which we have and we look forward to working together. If you look at it in terms of investment, Netherlands is one of the largest investors in India, more than 55 billion dollars of investment so far. Similarly, India is a major investor in Netherlands, 28 billion dollars of investment. So, it's a mutually beneficial partnership.

Again, look at trade. Netherlands is one of the largest trading partners for us with a total trade of 27 billion dollars last year. So, this is something unique and that shows the possibilities, and particularly now we have entered into India-EU FTA which we have negotiated and concluded, which would be entering in force after it is being concluded, signed. Already there is a commitment to increase trade, double the trade in five years. So, that is also discussed.

India's maritime ambitions and in that what is that Netherlands can do, reliable modern water infrastructures coming up, making India's supply vessels, long-term economic growth, these are some of the topics which were discussed both in the in the meetings and also in the business engagement which is very important. Developing a digital corridor, a sea and digital corridor connecting Indian ports with the ports of Netherlands, another very important project.

Agricultural supply chains is another area which was discussed. Green hydrogen, again very significant. India is doing a lot of emphasis on green hydrogen and so is Netherlands. Then building ships, you would be very happy to know that ships are already being built in India for Netherlands because particularly I was referring to a Cochin shipyard.

Unidentified Speaker: Netherlands is helping in building the ships in India … Dredgers.

Shri Sibi George, Secretary (West): Yes. Then Maritime Centre for Excellence is being set up. So, these are some of the points I just wanted to touch upon. Maritime again in that I will cover when we come to the Lothal museum cooperation I will cover. So, I was referring to the business engagement which we had. 16 top CEOs of the Netherlands attended spanning the sectors of various sectors which I mentioned. Particularly I wanted to touch upon semiconductors, maritime, sustainability, renewable energy, hydrogen, healthcare, logistics, resilient supply chain. These are the issues which were discussed and agreed to.

In the evening, His Excellency the Prime Minister of Netherlands hosted Prime Minister Modi for bilateral restricted format and delegation-level discussions covering the entire spectrum of partnership and key regional and global developments. The two leaders welcomed strong bilateral momentum and agreed to further deepen cooperation in trade, investment, technology, semiconductors, green energy, defence, water.. another very important area of cooperation.. water, you know we are we are working on it. In that regard I would also like to specifically mention about the project which we are doing which was agreed on...Kalpasar project, which I would brief you on that and also Prime Minister would be visiting the Dyke tomorrow along with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands. And, of course, support for early India-EU FTA signing and implementation. These were all discussed.

In a significant decision, the two leaders acknowledged increasing convergence and formally elevated the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership, which is again very significant. They adopted an ambitious roadmap for Strategic Partnership guiding cooperation across various sectors. Official talks were followed by exchange of agreements and MOUs signed. Details of the press statement, joint statement, the Strategic Partnership roadmap and the list of outcomes, we'll be putting up shortly on the MEA website and also would be released.

Leaders continued the conversation at the dinner hosted by Prime Minister of the Netherlands. We are just coming from there. Apart from the Strategic Partnership roadmap, the wide-ranging outcomes highlight deepening partnership across trade facilitation, resilient supply chains, mobility, strong alignment on green energy and expanding cooperation in water again, yeah, agriculture, health, education and of course cultural ties.

I would like to highlight some of the key outcomes before I conclude my opening remarks. There was a big push for trade and investments, creating opportunities for businesses and avenues for job creation, contributing decisively to again Viksit Bharat - Developed India. Given the Dutch expertise in semiconductor, green energy, water, these are these were very big focus areas. I also particularly referred to the Tata-ASML agreement which was signed today which is a game-changing agreement. This agreement is coming after the signing of the MOU and partnership in semiconductors which we signed last year.

And related emerging technologies as well as the MOU on critical minerals again announced today which will usher in a new era of technological partnership between the two sides. It will provide a big support for our efforts to build a robust semiconductor ecosystem in India and creation of high-skilled jobs.

Let me go to green hydrogen. The two sides adopted an ambitious green hydrogen roadmap which would support India's production, usage and export of green hydrogen. The two sides also expressed satisfaction on the discussions for developing a roadmap on green and digital sea corridor which I mentioned connecting the ports of India with that of Netherlands.

Another big outcome was the letter of intent for technical cooperation on the Kalpasar project in Gujarat. As you are aware this project is envisaged as a multipurpose mega water project aimed at creating a fresh water reservoir contributing to water and food security in Saurashtra region of India. The two sides already share a strong collaboration in water sector and have a Strategic Partnership on water. The Dutch has a strong expertise in this area and the Kalpasar project has similarities with the dyke in the north of the Netherlands... Afsluitdijk, in the north of Netherlands whose primary objectives were flood protection and land reclamation. Both Prime Ministers are scheduled to visit the site tomorrow.

The two sides also discussed further enhancing defence ties including defence industrial collaboration building on the letter of intent on defence cooperation signed last year and the Netherlands joining IPOI, Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative, again a very important initiative which is growing which is building partnership in the Indo-Pacific region.

Now let me touch upon a very important agreement again signed today which is the MOU on mobility and migration, which is very significant. It would open new opportunities for Indian students and skilled professionals. This is also complemented by stronger collaboration on the education sector through the MOU on higher education as well as the agreement between Nalanda and the Groningen Universities. You know Nalanda as you know is a university which has come up in a civilizational connect... it has become one of the very important civilizational project in India in the third and fourth century onwards. Nalanda University was one of the biggest educational centers in the world. And then recently the government has again taken the initiative to rebuild the university and it has come up. I had the occasion to visit the university a few months back. It's huge and it is tying up various engagements with various other universities and one of them is now with a Netherlands university which is a very important development.

On culture I already mentioned you about the restitution of the Chola copper plates, which is again a major outcome.

The outcomes from the visit reflect the growing depth and breadth of our relationship achieved in recent years, as well as the shared commitment of both countries to work together for mutual benefit, prosperity and long-term cooperation. These outcomes are firmly aligned with India's Amrit Kaal vision again in the journey to 2047 when we have the vision given by our Prime Minister for making India a developed country.

So many projects are ongoing at every level, Make in India project, Startup projects, Clean India project, water Jal Shakti related projects. You know all this and I'm very happy that Netherlands is closely associated with each of these projects and this will lead to inclusive growth, strengthening economic resilience, accelerating the journey towards a Viksit Bharat.

I think I will stop here. We would be very happy to take questions and will be happy to respond. Thank you.

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: With that, we'll open the floor for some questions. Just to inform you that the documents that Secretary just mentioned, they have been put on our website. So, if you wish to have a look at them, please do.

Amrit Pal Singh, DD India: My name is Amrit Pal Singh, from DD India. So, sir, could you share details on the defence cooperation agreed upon today?

Sebin, Malayala Manorama: Sir, myself Sebin. I'm from Malayala Manorama. Sir, Chola plates are returning back to India, is there any kind of permanent institutional setup to for the cultural exchange with India and the Netherlands? Because definitely in Kerala we have a strong connection with the Dutch and Battle of Kolachel and all. So, is there any kind of a strong permanent cultural setup between India and Netherlands? Thank you.

Ashwant Nandram, De Volkskrant: I'm a journalist for the Dutch newspaper, De Volkskrant. I have a few questions. In the Netherlands, there is a tradition that after such a visit, both Prime Ministers are available for questions. I wonder what the reason is that that is not the case today.

Another thing is that today during a statement of Prime Minister Jetten, he said that the Netherlands and the European Union are worried about, he said, press freedom and minority rights, among them the Muslim community and smaller communities. I wonder what the response is of the Indian government.

And the last question is one of the issues which seemed to capture the attention of the Dutch audience today, you might have heard about it, it's a legal case concerning a child which was abducted by her father and taken to India. If you follow the Dutch news, it's a big thing. So, I was wondering what the Indian government can say about that.

Unidentified Speaker: I have a related. Did that come up in the Prime Minister's talks?

Shri Sibi George, Secretary (West): Let me start with the Defence cooperation question. There has been a momentum in India-Netherlands relationship, and one of the important aspects of that relationship, that momentum, is in the Defence engagements. Last year, both sides signed a Letter of Intent on Defence cooperation along with a Joint Declaration of Intent on enhancing collaboration in the digital and cyber domains.

There is frequent engagement at the political level and regular service-level interactions and port calls. Last year, the Dutch Defence Minister had visited India and Netherlands had also joined the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative which again I pointed out earlier, and agreed to co-lead the capacity building and resource sharing pillar along with Germany and the European Union.

The Royal Netherlands Navy frigate HNLMS De Ruyter made a port call in Kochi in the first week of May 2026, you know, last week. Both sides have agreed to enhance security cooperation through regular exchanges on traditional and non-traditional security issues, including defence, maritime security, economic security, critical and emerging technologies, cyber security, and counter-terrorism. So, that's what I wanted to mention.

Then referring to the question on the cultural cooperation which you raised. Now, as I said, this is a very important development today about the restitution of the Chola copper plates. It's a very important development and with that we have also signed an MoU on the archaeology that we are... we'll be signing it. We'll be signing an MoU on ASI and Leiden University.

Ambassador Tuhin Kumar: We have signed between ASI and Leiden University.

Shri Sibi George, Secretary (West): You know, these copper plates were in the library of the Leiden University. So, we have already signed an MoU for cooperation between the Leiden University and Archaeological Survey of India. We also have a very good cooperation already in the cultural field. There is an MoU on cultural cooperation which we have already entered into.

And when you talk about culture, one of the most important area is the people-to-people connect. You also referred to the historical connect, but the people-to-people connect is very important aspects, including tourism, including related to Bollywood, the movies, no? I mean, there are movies, Indian movies taken here is what I was told, correct?

Ambassador Tuhin Kumar: They are regularly screened in theatres here.

Shri Sibi George, Secretary (West): Yeah, there are Indian movies taken here. And, again, you know, good engagement between the museums. But most importantly, the painting exhibition which is going on, why don't you brief on that? The painting exhibition which is going on.

Ambassador Tuhin Kumar: Yes, also there is currently an exhibition of Amrita Sher-Gil paintings, which is going on at the Drents Museum. This exhibition comprises of some very exquisite and priceless paintings of Amrita Sher-Gil which were in National Gallery of Modern Art and they have recently come here. And I was there at the inauguration a few days ago, and I must confess that these have attracted huge amount of interest here. If you see the Dutch press and media, I think they have received very wide coverage. And they will be continuing for a few months till September. This is as Secretary mentioned, there is an active cooperation going on between the museums of both sides. And again, it is envisaged that later on, we will also have similarly some works traveling also from Netherlands to India.

Shri Sibi George, Secretary (West): Thank you. Thank you, Ambassador. Now, I hope that answers your question.

Sebin, Malayala Manorma: Is there any kind of permanent institutional framework?

Shri Sibi George, Secretary (West): Every MoU which we sign is a permanent mechanism. But you know, this is also a everything is a work in progress when it comes to two countries. So, we will definitely look at that. Thank you.

Now let me come to the other questions which we have received on about press freedom and, you know, minorities and all in India. See, let me tell you from my experience. We face these kind of questions basically because of the lack of understanding of the person who asks the question.

India is a country of 1.4 billion people, the largest populated country in the world. A country of civilization of more than 5000 years old. It's a diverse country. People, you know, in diversity in terms of culture, diversity in terms of languages, diversity in terms of food, diversity in terms of religion. Look at India, how beautiful it is. There is no other country in the world which have four religions have originated. Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. These religions originated in India and continue to flourish in India. Okay?

And again look at India. India has all the major religions in the world came to India. Jewish religion was in India for more than 2500 years. Continuously coexisted. India is perhaps only one of those very few countries where the Jewish population never faced a persecution. This is the beauty of India. Then again, look at Islam or Christianity. Christianity came to India immediately after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Continued to flourish in India. Today Christianity is more than 30 million Christians in India. Christianity came to India much before it came to Europe and it flourished in India. This is the beauty of India. Islam came to India during the time of Prophet Muhammad himself and flourished in India.

Every religion. Whenever any part of the world there was persecution in the past, they all came to India and thrived in India. This is the beauty of India. This question comes because of the lack of understanding of this. Today we are 1.4 billion people, diverse, living in peace and harmony. And a democratically elected government where peaceful transition of power happens. Again, a beautiful thing. Yes, we have, if you look at it, this, the freedom you're talking about, this is a very potent weapon. You know how many of these are in India, the smartphones? 900 million of them. And these are very important weapons. Everyone has the freedom of expression, freedom of press in the country. And that makes our democracy a very noisy democracy and we are proud of that.

Recently we had elections. You know, you need to know what was the level of participation. More than 90% of the electorate voted. This is the beauty of India. It's a vibrant democracy. So, we need to have more understanding for people. See, when we talk about reforms and transformation, there was reform in India, there was India got transformed, and India performed. But it is also important for us to inform. That is what we are doing. You know, you need to have the information about India's transformation today. That is how we are moving ahead with the democratic process to become a developed country.

See, as a as a diplomat I am so proud to say that everything we have achieved, the economic progress, today we are the largest, fastest growing large economy in the world. 8% growth for the last 25 years. And how did we achieve it? Without compromising on our democratic principles. We did not go for, you know, violence to eliminate poverty. We went a democratic process of elimination of poverty. This is the beauty of India.

To summarize, we are 1/6th of the total population of the world but not 1/6th of the problems of the world. This is the beauty of India, which makes us proud. So, every minority thrives. When we became independent, the minority population in India was 11%. Now it is more than 20%. Name a country where the population of minorities have gone up, you won't find it other than India. This is the beauty of India. So, I would request you to learn more about India so that you will have more appreciation of what India is, and how it is progressing.

Again, another minorities, you know, linguistic minorities, every language is flourishing in India. There are 22 official languages. If you take a Indian currency, there are 22 languages written in it. Again, every language is flourishing in India. This is the beauty of India. So, I would invite also you to visit India and for see for yourself how India lives, how thriving an economy it is, how vibrant a democracy it is. Thank you.

Now let me get to two questions on that. Let me finish this. Let me answer this question. The next question is about the legal case which you have, you know, this was raised by the by the Netherlands leadership in the meeting. And, as you know, it's a case is in the court, it is sub judice, so I would not like to comment on this at this stage, but it was raised. I think I answered. Now I can take your question if you have a question. Yeah.

Merel Thie, NRC: My name is Merel Thie and I'm from the Dutch newspaper NRC. And as you were referring to my colleague, he was actually citing our Prime Minister who said he was worried about minorities and press freedom in India. So, does it upset you when our Prime Minister says this?

Shri Sibi George, Secretary (West): No, I was giving the factual position of that. So that remains to be the factual position. You need to have more understanding of India to appreciate what India is.

Merel Thie, NRC: So, Prime Minister should have more understanding because it's not something we say.

Shri Sibi George, Secretary (West): I haven't seen that statement. I am referring to the question which, you know, about that topic which was raised about the freedom and I think I have clarified how beautiful a country India is. Thank you.

Sushrut, Akashvani: This is Sushrut from Akashvani. Sir, could you elaborate more on the water management cooperation that Dutch and what is the role of Dutch government itself in terms of technology or investment as such?

Sudhakar Das, DD News: Sir, this is Sudhakar Das from DD News. CEO's forum mein Dutch PM ne aisa kaha tha ki kai concrete commitments Dutch companies ki taraf se hue hain, toh usko thoda aap elaborate karenge kya?

[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi] Sir, this is Sudhakar Das from DD News. In the CEO's forum, the Dutch Prime Minister had said that several concrete commitments have been made by Dutch companies. Could you please elaborate a bit on that?

Aleyak Abdlakim, De Groene Amsterdammer: Thank you so much. I'm Aleyak Abdlakim from De Groene Amsterdammer. I have a couple of questions. I want to highlight also the water management. As you know, the Dutch, as you expand on, Dutch are expertise on this issue and export it. I was wondering to what extent the knowledge and the early warning systems against flooding etc. is also used in the security domain as water is increasingly being used as a security issue by the Chinese in the Himalaya with mega dam projects. Is this something where the Dutch are involved as well?

Second one is there's increasing discussion and discourse on European preferences on security on critical domains within Europe. You highlighted a bunch of MoUs. To what extent are those MoUs still relevant if the European Union is increasingly looking for European partners within their critical supply chains?

And I want to lastly also ask about Europe's problems. Your MFA a couple of years ago mentioned that Europe's problems are not the world's problems, which is of course true in some domains. To what extent is there also a reflection and discussion with the Dutch leadership when it comes to India's problems and also the recent war with Pakistan and the Dutch position in there? Thank you.

Shri Sibi George, Secretary (West): Thank you. Water. Very important topic. In fact, we had made significant progress under the strategic Partnership on water in building up the synergies between water-related requirements of India and the expertise and experience of the Netherlands. Both Prime Ministers appreciated the joint efforts being undertaken in the field of water and river management, including the partnership in the Namami Gange Mission, urban water management for climate resilience through Urban River Management Plans in combination with water as leverage, delta management, water quality management, wastewater reuse, and introduction of new water technologies.

Both leaders emphasized the importance of safely managed sanitation and inclusive access to clean water and acknowledged the contribution of Netherlands in sustainable finance for WASH-related developmental projects. You know, WASH is water, agriculture, health related developmental projects internationally aligned with India's Swachh Bharat Mission goals.

Both leaders welcomed the establishment of a Centre of Excellence on water under the auspices of Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India in collaboration with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, Government of Netherlands at the Indian Institute of Technology, IIT Delhi. Both leaders also noted the progress under various ongoing joint programs in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Keralam. Both leaders agreed to enhance cooperation on the Kalpasar project in Gujarat, which I already briefed you, where the Dutch expertise and technical assistance in the project can lead to further strengthening of a strategic partnership on water.

The leaders also noted the progress made so far on the urban water infrastructure resilience program of the India-led Global Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure through which the Netherlands shares its expertise as part of its membership. Both leaders look forward to the rollout of the developed training program both in Indian cities with the National Disaster Management Authority and globally in others of the 50 plus CDRI member countries. On water, I think I leave it at that.

CEO's Forum, yes, of course, you know, as I mentioned, 16 CEOs briefed Prime Minister on the progress they have made in India and each one of them had, you know, a program and project in mind to scale up the engagement with India which in terms of investment, in terms of projects, in terms of job creation, this is going to be a game changer. So, I see it as a huge successful engagement with the CEOs today in the meeting.

Moving on to the critical supply chains, of course, it's a very important aspect in our relationship. I also mentioned about the sea and digital corridor which is being envisaged which again aims at building the supply chain. You know, as you are aware, we have entered into the India-EU FTA which is a very important step which is also aimed at building that partnership, resilient supply chain partnership.

Along with that, we signed another important document that is on Towards 2030, a comprehensive agenda for India-EU partnership. If you look at it, you will see that there are multiple areas where we focus on building critical supply, you know, resilient supply chains

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: On water projects, he told you what sort of engagement we have between India and Netherlands, so that is where we are.

Vijaylaxmi, Radio Sunrise FM: I'm Vijaylaxmi from Radio Sunrise FM. Just wanted to know, a very exciting news I heard just, ki aap Nalanda University ko restart kar rahe hain. Toh iske baare mein hum more information kahaan se le sakte hain? Aur aap Dutch universities ke saath bhi kuch collaboration kar rahe hain ya other universities ke saath?

[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi] I'm Vijaylaxmi from Radio Sunrise FM. I just wanted to know - I heard some very exciting news that you are restarting Nalanda University. So where can we get more information about this? And are you also doing any collaboration with Dutch universities, or with other universities as well?

Shri Sibi George, Secretary (West): You know the history of Nalanda. Okay, so I don't have to explain that.

You know, I visited Nalanda University a few weeks back and I went there for a project which was with Portugal. You know, a group of experts from Portugal had come there, professors, and at least six universities have come there. So, I went there for a program because Nalanda has now transformed. You know, there is a there's a huge development, you know, it is next to the original site where it is. So, when I saw that, I understood that it is also important not only just with Portugal, but also with every country which gives importance to education, importance to research, importance to, you know, the civilizational connect. It's very important to connect with that university with other universities in Europe. So, we are now exploring the possibility of Nalanda getting connected with universities all across the globe.

There are so many books written about Nalanda. I would invite our scholars from Europe to visit Nalanda University when they come to... it's going to be a very fascinating, amazing experience to see how we were able to resurrect, you know, reinvent the civilizational connect that India had. And how the, you know, education of that time... even Shunya originated in Nalanda na?

Ambassador Tuhin Kumar: Decimal system and Shunya.

Shri Sibi George, Secretary (West): Yeah, so that is and how it reached the rest of the world, including in Southeast Asian countries, we could see the connect. So, we are looking at that kind of a connect with European countries also like what we have with Portugal and Nalanda. Thank you.

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: I think with that, ladies and gentlemen, we come to the close of this press briefing. Thank you very much.

Shri Sibi George, Secretary (West): Thank you.

The Hague
May 16, 2026