India and the Netherlands will collaborate on fighting terror and cyber crime and have decided to set up a joint working group on counter-terrorism, which will hold its first meeting on June 19.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the announcement on Friday, after meeting his Netherlands counterpart, Mark Rutte, who is in India on a two-day visit.
Mr. Modi said both countries agreed that they stood to benefit from closer bilateral and multilateral collaboration in countering terrorism and extremism.
Cyber crimeThe two nations, which are keen on forging an alliance to fight terror and cyber crime, are looking to increase bilateral trade and will sign 18 agreements on water management, infrastructure development, defence and maritime cooperation.
“We have the experience in fighting the IS in Iraq. India has experience in fighting terrorism as well; we will exchange information on how to deal with terror and share our experiences,” Mr. Rutte told presspersons here.
The Netherlands is part of the group of countries led by the United States that is helping to break the fighting power of the IS terrorist organisation; it has deployed military trainers to help Iraqi and Kurdish armed forces, personnel and F-16 fighters for airstrikes.
The visiting Dutch delegation offered its expertise in flood control and for cleaning the Ganga under the “Namami Gange” programme.
Defence cooperation“India’s economy is growing faster than China’s, and though it has its challenges, there is scope for the Netherlands and India to work together. Right now our trade is at six billion Euros and over 200 Dutch companies are already working here, but we are looking at possibilities in other areas,” Mr. Rutte said.
The Netherlands, which has supported New Delhi’s bid for permanent membership of a reformed United Nations Security Council, is looking at collaboration with India in the defence sector and infrastructure development, particularly in Mumbai.
India, which is the fifth largest source of investments for the Netherlands, for its part has announced e-visas for Dutch visitors to give tourism a fillip.
The two countries will sign agreements on manufacturing dredgers at the Cochin Shipyard, making measles and rubella vaccine with transfer of technology and collaborating on developing coastal roads and metro lines in India, borrowing Dutch expertise.
