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Netherlands eyeing pact with India on chips, critical technology: Dutch minister
Dutch foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp said the India and Netherlands can also compare notes on dealing with the fallout of the US administration’s planned reciprocal tariffs
New Delhi: The Netherlands, a world leader in semiconductors, is looking to finalise an agreement with India for cooperation in chips and critical technologies that will focus on both trade and research, Dutch foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp has said.
The two countries, which are working to upgrade their relations to a strategic partnership at a time of growing unrest and uncertainty across the world, can also “compare notes” on dealing with the fallout of the US administration’s planned reciprocal tariffs, Veldkamp told journalists on Tuesday.
Veldkamp, who was on a two-day visit to India from March 31, met external affairs minister S Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval to explore ways to ramp up bilateral ties, especially in areas such as trade, technology and security.
Noting that there is already cooperation between the two sides on semiconductors, he said: “We look forward to signing a memorandum of understanding on semiconductors and critical technology later this year that will focus on trade, research and development cooperation, mobility of workforce, etc.”
“We want to tap into the Indian government’s ambition about developing the country into a semiconductor hub,” he said, adding that the Netherlands perceives India as a “safe space” for cooperation in this field.
The Netherlands is considered a world leader in the semiconductor industry, with a global market share of 9% putting it fourth behind the US (52%), Taiwan (16%) and China (12%). Dutch semiconductor majors such as ASML and NXP Semiconductors have been eyeing cooperation with India.
Veldkamp said the Netherlands is keen to strengthen its ties with a “geopolitical power such as India” amid a shifting geopolitical landscape with war, unrest and uncertainty being witnessed around the world. “In the field of security interest for us, it is important to relate to China,” he said, without going into details.
“We see, as a European country, that the point of gravity of the world is shifting slightly to the Global South and more towards the east, where India is a crucial country,” he said. The two sides have shared security interests in this changing world and India’s role in the Indo-Pacific is crucial for freedom of navigation and international law, he said.
In this context, the two sides have plans to upgrade their relations to a strategic partnership, Veldkamp said.
While the European Union (EU) will be responsible for responding to US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, it is important for the EU member states to “compare notes” with India on “these matters which affect all of us”, he said. The EU’s response, he said, is expected to be “unitary, proportional and robust”.
The Netherlands, as a trade hub, believes tariffs infringe on the prosperity of nations by affecting trade. “These tariffs, in the end, will not be beneficial for the American consumer. The inflationary pressure that those tariffs bring will definitely be there in the US economy,” Veldkamp said.
In response to a question on the Netherlands’ arms sales to Pakistan, Veldkamp said the Dutch government declines more export licences than it approves for Islamabad, while the approval of such licences for New Delhi is “100%”.
During a visit to India last month by Dutch defence minister Ruben Berkelmans, defence minister Rajnath Singh expressed concern at cross-border terrorism and urged the Netherlands to ensure that Dutch companies don’t provide weapons, platforms or technology to Pakistan.
