President Kovind arrives in the Netherlands, concluding his two-nation tour

*Paromita Das

President Ram Nath Kovind arrived in Amsterdam on Monday for the final leg of his two-nation trip – the first presidential visit to the Netherlands in 34 years – during which he will meet with the top leadership of the European country.

President Kovind arrived in India from Turkmenistan, where he met with his Turkmen counterpart, Serdar Berdimuhamedov, and the two sides agreed to expand bilateral trade and energy cooperation to strengthen the multifaceted partnership. He is the first Indian President to visit Turkmenistan since its independence.
“Good day, Netherlands! President Ram Nath Kovind arrives in Amsterdam, concluding his two-nation tour. The presidential visit to the Netherlands comes 34 years after President Venkataraman’s visit in 1988 “The president’s office issued a tweet.

President Kovind will meet with King Willem Alexander and Queen Maxima during his visit to the Netherlands from April 4 to 7, at the invitation of King Willem Alexander and Queen Maxima.

His visit is significant because India and the Netherlands will be celebrating 75 years of diplomatic relations in 2022.
Later, President Kovind paid a visit to Keukenhof, the world’s largest flower garden, where he was greeted by Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra.

“The Dutch Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, @WBHoekstra, greeted President Kovind at Keukenhof. President Kovind spoke about the two countries’ multifaceted partnership and vibrant people-to-people connections “President Kovind’s Twitter account has been updated.

“President Ram Nath Kovind and First Lady Smt Savita Kovind paid a visit to the Keukenhof Gardens in Amsterdam. The President named a new breed of yellow tulips ‘Maitri,’ symbolising India and the Netherlands’ special and enduring friendship “another tweet stated.
A Strategic Partnership on Water was launched in 2021, during the Virtual Summit between the Prime Ministers of the two countries, to increase the level of engagement between the two sides in this critical sector.

Agriculture, health, urban development, science, and technology cooperation are also important pillars of the bilateral relationship.

The Netherlands is also an important economic and commercial partner of India, serving as the country’s fourth largest source of FDI. It also has the most significant Indian diaspora in continental Europe.