Defence Cooperation Between India and the Netherlands: Outline

Defence Cooperation Between India and the Netherlands: Outline

Queston: Recently, India and the Netherlands inked numerous agreements including building dredgers in India as part of the 'Make in India' initiative and manufacture of vaccines against measles and rubella in India. However, it was chiefly in the area of defence cooperation and counter terrorism that the 2 countries took rapid strides. Discuss.

• India and the Netherlands have agreed to benefit from deeper bilateral and multilateral collaboration in areas such as countering terrorism and extremism, defence cooperation, maritime security and cyber-security

• Both nations have agreed to establish a JoInt Working Group in Counter Terrorism

• India has also received support from the Netherlands for a reformed UNSC and India’s candidature for the Security Council in 2021-2022

• Jointly building dredgers in India and joint collaboration between CSL/Cochin Shipyard Limited and Dutch Shipbuilder Royal IHC is also on the cards

• Both sides also agreed for the expansion of bilateral security and defence cooperation as well as Dutch participation in Make in India initiatives in the defence sector

• India and the Netherlands are also collaborating on the fight against terrorism and cyber crime

• Joint Working Group on counter terrorism will be holding its first meeting in June

• The Netherlands has extensive experience in combating the IS and deploying military trainers to help Iraqi and Kurdish armed forces; it will lend its expertise to India as well

Facts and Stats

• The two countries signed close to 18 agreements on water management, infrastructure development, maritime and defence cooperation

• India is the fifth largest source of investments for the Netherlands

• India has also announced e-visas for Dutch tourists to provide a boost to tourism

• The Netherlands is home to the second largest Indian diaspora in EU