A 75-year-old bond of Maitri exists between India and Netherlands

During the Prime Ministers’ Virtual Summit in April 2021, a strategic partnership on water was launched between the two nations. We work together to address floods in Kerala. We are joining hands in Chennai to close the water loop. Similarly, Dutch and Indian companies have a strong collaboration on renewable energy. We together challenge Indian designers to work on circularity.

In sports, the Dutch hockey coach Sjoerd Marijne and the Indian women’s hockey team were successful in the Olympics. Today, the Indian women’s hockey team has become not only an inspiration for many young women to build a career in sport, but also a role model for their position in India.

India and the Netherlands are establishing Centres of Excellence in India in the agricultural sector: Horticulture, flowers, and dairy, making the Indian agricultural sector more sustainable and productive. In addition, we are working with two multilateral organisations — the International Solar Alliance and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure — on the climate crisis. The two nations work together on strengthening global institutions and are committed to the rule of law and diplomacy as the only ways to improve security in our multi-polar world.

As we can see again in Europe, with Russia’s war against Ukraine, only strong international cooperation can bring peace back to the continent. This is how we work jointly on global societal challenges like zero hunger, good health, gender equality, clean water, sustainable cities, clean energy and peace, justice, and strong institutions.

Working on the Sustainable Development Goals is a team sport. It requires collaboration between governments, companies, civil society, and universities. In The Netherlands, we call this our polder model — a method of consensus decision-making among all relevant stakeholders.

The close ties between India and The Netherlands is illustrated by more than 250 Indian companies and institutions in The Netherlands and between 350 and 500 Dutch companies and institutions in India.

The Netherlands has the largest Indian diaspora in mainland Europe. Bollywood is well known in The Netherlands. From a distance, India and The Netherlands look different: India with 1.4 billion people, The Netherlands with 18 million; India with high mountains and glaciers, only lowlands in The Netherlands; India with 3.287000 square kilometres, The Netherlands with 41,500 square kilometres. But our societies are vibrant democracies, and our friendship is getting closer.

India and The Netherlands together can be the change we all would like to see in the world. Did you know that the former President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, during his trip to The Netherlands in 2022, named a new yellow tulip ‘Maitri,’ a symbol of the rich historical bond of friendship between the two nations?

Marten van-den Berg is ambassador of the Kingdom of The Netherlands to India, Nepal and Bhutan The views expressed are personal