Netherlands PM savours Masala Chai on Bengaluru streets, goes cashless with UPI

Netherlands PM Mark Rutte snapped selfies with locals, made digital payments through UPI, and leisurely walked down the Church Street of Bengaluru.

Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who was in India for the G20 Summit, had an eventful visit to Bengaluru. On Monday, he was seen strolling the streets of Bengaluru, enjoying masala chai, and even taking a bicycle ride. During his visit, he met with Karnataka's deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar at Vidhana Soudha and conducted a round table conference to explore investment opportunities in Karnataka.

Netherlands PM Mark Rutte shares a selfie moment with locals in Bengaluru. (X/@MinPres)

Rutte took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to share his experiences from Church Street in the city. He snapped selfies with locals, made digital payments through UPI, and leisurely walked down the vibrant street.

“The Netherlands and India have wide-ranging economic ties. Over 350 Dutch companies do business here. India and the Netherlands also share the same enterprising spirit and capacity for innovation. We work together in areas like agriculture and water management, and more opportunities are opening up all the time. This was the focus of my trip to Bangalore, in the south of India,” Rutte wrote.

The Netherlands PM was iimpressed with India's UPI method and called it 'simple and easy,' saying it was fascinating to go through the experience once.

Rutte also spoke about his memorable bicycle ride alongside Sathya Sankaran, the Bicycle Mayor of Bengaluru, on Church Street. He said, “Another special moment was my meeting with Bangalore’s bicycle mayor Sathya Sankaran @bicyclemayorblr, a job close to my heart. We discussed his sustainable vision for the city, with lots more space for cyclists and public transport.”

After participating in a round table conference with Karnataka's deputy chief minister, Rutte said, “Netherlands aims to provide Dutch companies operating in Karnataka an opportunity to engage in discussions on strategic matters of mutual interest, focusing on economic growth and investment prospects.”

Netheralnds PM about G20's Delhi Declaration

About the New Delhi G20 Leaders' Summit Declaration, Netherlands PM remarked that it was a “compromise”, as is often the case when diverse members come together.

“I think it was good that India was able to broker a declaration by the 20, by all the members,” news agency ANI quoted Rutte as saying.

“It was a compromise clearly. That is always the case when you come together as multilateral teams like the G20...I was happy with the fact that there were some key elements in the declaration which were very important and obviously, if I would have written it myself, it would have been different,” he further said.

Bilateral meeting with PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting with his Netherlands counterpart, Mark Rutte, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in New Delhi.

According to an official statement from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the two leaders explored avenues to strengthen their bilateral partnership. This collaboration encompasses various areas, including trade and investment, defense and security, clean energy, green hydrogen, semiconductors, cyber technology, and digital technology.

Rutte extended his congratulations to PM Modi for the successful hosting of the G20 Summit during India's presidency. He also commended India's achievements in space exploration, particularly the Chandrayaan mission, and conveyed his best wishes for the Aditya mission to the Sun. The discussions between PM Modi and Mark Rutte extended to cover regional and global issues of mutual interest.