ndia and Netherlands to address climate change, terrorismand depletion of natural resources

Inaugurating the 25th edition of the DST-CII India Netherlands Technology Summit in New Delhi today, His Majesty King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and Union Minister of Science and Technology, Earth Sciences and Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Harsha Vardhan expressed his happiness. On the successful cooperation of science and technology between the two countries.

Addressing the inaugural session, His Majesty King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands said that India and the Netherlands complement each other in terms of technology and they make a great team when taken together. He said that in the Netherlands experience, India was a partner that you could trust and work together in areas such as both agriculture and food security, water management and climate change. Another area where he felt the two countries could share their experiences and perspectives was in the context of public private partnerships.
Her MajestyQueen Maxima of Netherlands also graced the occasion with her presence at the Inaugural session of the Summit.

Speaking at the Inaugural session, Dr. Harsh Vardhan highlighted the shared heritage and common beliefs between both countries that has led to further intensify cooperation and build a sound bilateral relationship. He said “Countries such as ours need to combine forces to seek sustainable answers to pressing global issues. These include poverty, hunger, job creation, energy security, human rights, gender inequality. At the same time we need to work together on climate change, terrorism, and depletion of natural resources”.

Recalling the centuries old partnership between India and Netherlands, the Minister stated that traditional items of trade between them had given way to more high technology ones. He added that India and the Netherlands were celebrating 10 years of cooperation in Science, Technology and Innovation space, especially in areas such as Urban Water Management, Smart Energy Grids, and anti-microbial resistance, among others. He stated that Netherlands could help India in its quest to double farmers’ income by improving water technology in the farm sector.