India-Netherlands Strategic Partnership: Roadmap for 2026-2030
Twenty-twenty six marks the start of a new phase in the bilateral cooperation between India and the Netherlands with the adoption of a Strategic Partnership Roadmap for the next five years. A major pillar of the new strategic framework is structured cooperation in water management and maritime development.
Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi paid an official visit to the Netherlands in May 2026, at the invitation of Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten. This was Prime Minister Modi’s second visit to Netherlands. During the visit, both Prime Ministers recalled the longstanding and historical trade linkages, deep rooted people-to-people ties and robust bilateral relations between the two countries and expressed their desire for further expanding and deepening this multifaceted relationship. In this context, the two leaders noted with satisfaction the progress achieved in recent years across various cooperation programmes through regular interactions, including at the highest political level and through the fruitful collaboration during India’s Presidency of the G20 in 2023 and the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi in February 2026.
Acknowledging the strong momentum in the relationship and the growing convergences between their countries, the two leaders decided to elevate relations between India and the Netherlands to a 'Strategic Partnership' and set out the basis for a roadmap covering the period from 2026 to 2030.
Water management
Both Prime Ministers noted the progress made under the Strategic Partnership on Water in building upon the synergies between the water related requirements of India and the expertise and experience of the Netherlands. The Partnership on Water was singed in March 2022 and runs until March 2027. With the new roadmap in place, it is agreed that the Partnership’s progress will be reviewed through the Ministerial Joint Working Group on Water.
The leaders appreciated the joint efforts being undertaken in the field of water and river management, including the partnership in the Namami Ganga Mission, and agreed to collaborate on urban water management for climate resilience through Urban River Management Plans in combination with the ‘Water as Leverage’ approach.
Launched in 2018 by the Dutch Government, the Water as Leverage approach is a design-driven, multi-stakeholder framework that promotes sustainable social, economic, and water climate resilience as catalysts for development. The approach has been applied in support of Namami Ganga Mission, implemented by the National Mission Clean Ganga (NMCG) since 2016 to reduce pollution and rejuvenate of the Ganga River basin’s ecosystem.
Under the roadmap, both countries also agree to further enhance collaboration in integrated water resources management, integrated coastal zone management, flood resilience, and sustainable water quality and availability in the Ganga Basin.
Centre of Excellence on Water
With a view to further strengthening the partnership between India and the Netherlands in the field of water, both leaders welcomed the establishment of an India-Netherlands Centre of Excellence on Water under the auspices of the Indian Ministry of Jal Shakti, the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, at the Indian Institute for Technology (IIT) Delhi.
The Centre is meant to serve as a platform to develop and implement pilot projects to evidence the suitability of Dutch solutions to Indian contexts, creating a bridge from innovation to scalable application.
Maritime corridor
Building on the recently renewed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Maritime Cooperation between India and the Netherlands, the two Prime Ministers underscored the importance of continued collaboration towards a safe, secure and sustainable maritime sector, supporting the development of a strategic ‘Green and Digital Sea Corridor’ between India and the Netherlands, as outlined in the Letter of Intent signed in October 2025. In this context, they agreed to further deepen and broaden their partnership in the areas of smart and sustainable development of ports and inland waterways, supply chain optimisation and green ports and shipping.
As a next step, both Prime Ministers agreed to explore developing a comprehensive 'Strategic Roadmap on a Green and Digital Sea Corridor' which aims at working towards an environmentally sustainable, digitally integrated and economically efficient future-ready maritime corridor between India and the Netherlands.
For more detailed information, download the Roadmap of India-Netherlands Strategic Partnership 2026-2030 from the Dutch Government’s website.
This article is based on a Joint Statement released on the visit of Prime Minister Modi to the Netherlands.
