India, Netherlands holds first Ministerial-level meeting of Joint Working Group
Recently the first ministerial meeting of the India-Netherlands Joint Working Group (JWG) has been held in New Delhi.
In the year 2022, the Ministry of Jal Shakti of India and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management of the Netherlands signed a Strategic Water Partnership (SWP) agreement.
Objectives of SWP:
- Leveraging Dutch expertise in sustainable water programs in India,
- To promote innovation and joint development of sustainable technology solutions / nature based solutions, and exchange of knowledge.
Key areas of bilateral cooperation include:
- India Netherlands Historical Relations: Indo-Dutch relations go back more than 400 years, with the establishment of the first Dutch East India Company in India around the 17th century AD.
- Official relations between the two countries were established in the year 1947 and since then the relations between the two have been cordial and friendly.
- Both countries also share common ideals of democracy, pluralism and rule of law.
- Cultural Relations: The Netherlands is currently home to an Indian community in the European mainland.
- In October 2011 the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) cultural center “Gandhi Centre” was established in The Hague.
- Cooperation in Science and Technology: The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) collaborates with various departments of the Government of India.
Other Cooperation –
- Reduction of industrial pollution and effective waste management of textile cluster at Panipat, Haryana.
- Room for River Project – Flood Management Project with Kerala
- Water Age Leverage (WaL) initiative in Chennai to build climate-resilient cities.
- The Netherlands supported the proposals presented by India at the UN Water Conference 2023 including River City Alliance (RCA) for river sensitive cities and technology driven nature-based solutions for river rejuvenation.
- To set up Indo-Dutch Centers of Excellence (CoEs) on water security, availability and quality.
- India launched the River City Alliance (RCA) in 2021. The initiative provides a platform for member cities to exchange information on important aspects of sustainable management of urban rivers, share best practices and support innovation.
- RCA platform is open to all river cities of India. It started with 30 river cities.
Source – PIB
