Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten held bilateral talks in The Hague, signalling a push to upgrade India-Netherlands relations into a strategic partnership. The discussions brought together government leadership and top industry voices, underlining a growing alignment across trade and technology.
Industry leaders outline sectoral plans for India
As per a report by News18, a closed-door interaction saw 16 CEOs from leading Dutch companies engage with PM Modi across key sectors. The business leaders presented their roadmap under three broad clusters: semiconductors, technology and innovation; infrastructure, logistics and maritime; and sustainability, energy and agriculture. The presentations focused on long-term engagement and expansion strategies in the Indian market.
Ahead of the meeting, a key agreement was signed between ASML and Tata Electronics. The partnership aims to support India’s first front-end semiconductor fabrication plant in Dholera, Gujarat. The development was acknowledged by both leaders as a significant step in strengthening the semiconductor ecosystem.
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PM Modi highlights reforms, invites investment
During the interaction, PM Modi welcomed the increasing business-to-business engagement between the two countries. He pointed to India’s recent policy reforms and efforts to improve ease of doing business. Stressing the importance of a stable and predictable regulatory environment, he invited Dutch firms to explore opportunities across maritime, renewable energy, digital technology, semiconductors, artificial intelligence and healthcare.
Premier Rob Jetten en ik hebben deelgenomen aan de CEO-rondetafelconferentie over economische banden in Den Haag. De CEO’s spraken over hun investeringen in India in diverse sectoren.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 16, 2026
In mijn toespraak heb ik de aandacht gevestigd op het hervormingstraject van India en de… pic.twitter.com/kbjVAkpL75
Key CEOs across sectors attend meeting
The delegation featured senior executives from major global firms. These included Keith Svendsen of APM Terminals, Christophe Fouquet of ASML, Arnout Damen of Damen Shipyards Group, and Dolf van den Brink of Heineken.
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Also present were Marjan Rintel of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Maurice Geraets of NXP Semiconductors. From the healthcare and logistics sectors, Roy Jakobs of Philips and Boudewijn Siemons of Port of Rotterdam Authority participated.
The list further included Occo Roelofsen of Power2X, Fabricio Bloisi of Prosus, and Sander van ’t Noordende of Randstad. Agribusiness firms were represented by Martijn Eggink of Rijk Zwaan and Hans Huistra of Royal HZPC Group.
Executives from infrastructure and logistics sectors such as Derk te Bokkel of Royal IHC, Dick Richelle of Royal Vopak, and Govert van Oord of Van Oord also joined discussions.
The participating CEOs acknowledged India’s reform-driven growth trajectory and shared plans to expand their footprint. Many indicated interest in scaling operations and building deeper partnerships across sectors central to India’s development agenda.
