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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has kicked off the European leg of his official tour with a meeting with the Dutch King and Queen in The Hague.
Modi is currently on a six-day trip across the Middle East and Europe that began in the United Arab Emirates and will later see him visit Sweden, Norway, and Italy, meeting a host of key leaders including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Modi met with the Netherlands’ King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima, as well as a number of Dutch business executives, at the Huis ten Bosch Palace on Saturday.
He is also meeting with Dutch counterpart Rob Jetten to discuss topics including defence, security, innovation, and energy.
Addressing members of the Indian community in The Hague earlier in the day, Modi lauded growing trade and economic partnerships between India and the Netherlands and highlighted technology and innovation as emerging focus areas.
The Netherlands is a key trading partner for India, with bilateral trade worth USD 27.8 billion in 2024-25, according to India’s Ministry of External Affairs.
The third leg of Modi’s trip will see him meet with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson to “review the entire gamut of bilateral relations,” the ministry said in a press release.
The pair are also set to address the European Round Table for Industry in Sweden alongside von der Leyen.
Von der Leyen also met with Modi in January at the 16th EU-India summit, where the bloc successfully completed negotiations on a free trade agreement with New Delhi. The deal aims to reduce tariffs and red tape, which the EU hopes will facilitate trade and benefit consumers.
From there, Modi will move on to Oslo for the third India-Nordic summit, where’s he’s scheduled to meet with the leaders of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland. Talks will focus on the nations’ cooperation on technology, renewable energies, defence, space and the Arctic region, India’s External Affairs Ministry said.
Modi’s tour will finish up in Italy on 20 May with a visit to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
In 2024, Modi and Meloni committed to a “Joint Strategic Action Plan,” agreeing to build cooperation in a number of areas including security and defence, as well as promoting “safe and legal migration channels.”