Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 25 : Netherlands Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Liesje Schreinemacher on Thursday called India a "big geopolitical player" for the Netherlands. She praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his work to make India become a "really important geopolitical player."
In an interview with ANI, Schreinemacher stated that India and the Netherlands have a "very good economic partnership." She noted that the economic ties between the two countries are about 20 billion euros and she believes that they can only grow the number.
Speaking on India-Netherlands ties, Schreinemacher said, "For us, India is a very important geopolitical player, and that is why we really want to improve our relationship with India. Having said that, I believe that we do have already a very good economic cooperation, but also when it comes to the maritime security, this is why I'm here. And so I'm happy that I can really show our interest and the importance and the value that it has. Well, the economic relations amounts to about 20 billion euros, so that is a lot. And I believe that we can only grow that number, which is why I'm here, to really enhance these economic relations as well."
Asked about PM Modi's work for India, the Netherlands Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation said, "Well, you really see that India is becoming a really important geopolitical player, and I think that that's also because of the way that your prime minister has acted and has really put India on the map. So in that sense, you can really say that he has a big role in that sense."
Highlighting India's role in the Indo-Pacific, Schreinemacher said India is a big geopolitical player and economic player for the Netherlands. She said, "For us, it's very important that we see India really as a big geopolitical player and economic player here in the region. So when we talk about Indo-Pacific stability and security, we cannot do that without India. So we need India, and this is also why I'm here, to really enhance this cooperation when it comes to maritime security, but also, of course, as a minister for trade, to see where we can improve our economic relations. We already have good economic relations, but we can always improve it."
Netherlands Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Liesje Schreinemacher expressed happiness to visit Mumbai. She said that the Netherlands Majesty Ship (HNLMS) Tromp an air defence and command frigate has sailed across the Red sea and is now in the Indo-Pacific.
She said, "I'm very happy to be here in Mumbai, India, and I'm here to visit His Majesty's Tromp. It's very important that we are here. This ship has sailed across the Red Sea and is now in the Indo-Pacific. As a maritime trading nation - the Netherlands is a maritime trading nation, we find it very important that we have free trade and safe passage for our commerce. So also the economic relations between the Netherlands and India is very important, and this helps a lot with that and the stability and security in the Indo-Pacific region is of great importance for the rest of the world."
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