India, Netherlands sign SoI to support energy sector and sustainable growth objectives

The Embassy of Netherlands and NITI Aayog, on September 28, signed a Statement of Intent (SoI) in a bid to support the decarbonisation and energy transition agenda for accommodating cleaner and more energy. According to ANI, the SoI was signed by Amitabh Kant, who is the CEO of NITI Aayog, and Ambassador of the Netherlands to India Marten van den Berg. The recent measure will be focusing on co-creating innovative technological solutions by leveraging the expertise of the two entities. 

Dr Rajiv Kumar, who is the Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog, said, “I am sure India's expertise in deploying high-tech solutions in a cost-effective manner, combined with Dutch expertise in low carbon technologies, will further solidify Indo-Dutch collaboration, and we will successfully work towards achieving the decarbonization and energy transition agenda”. 

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In a separate statement, Marten said, “As both India and the Netherlands continue to transform their energy sector, we are committed that initiatives under this SoI will help both the countries to move towards becoming climate-resilient economies”. 

Further, the Ambassador of the Netherlands to India added that working with India is also important to meet its twin objectives, i.e. generating economic growth and ensuring it safeguards the environment for future generations. Marten said that in the field of energy, there is a huge room for cooperation between the two countries as both have ‘ambitious sustainable targets’. The SoI will not only boost the economies of the two nations but also achieve the UN Sustainable Development goals, the Ambassador said. 

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The CEO of NITI Aayog said, “Given the enormous potential the partnership holds, the thematic areas within the broad topic of energy transition and climate change, the partnership with the Netherlands in the spirit and action, will help both the countries derive natural synergies to achieve sustainable development goals”. 

India-Netherlands relations 

India and Netherlands do share a long history of trade and investment. The Netherlands is India’s sixth-largest European Union trading partner and as much as 20 per cent of India’s exports to the European continent goes through the Netherlands. The country is also India’s gateway to Europe and one of the top five investors in the nation. Moreover, the Netherlands is the third-largest source of Foreign Direct Investment for India.  

(With inputs from ANI) 

(Image: @NITIAayog/Twitter) 

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