India and Netherlands elevate ties to strategic partnership, following talks between PM Narendra Modi and Rob Jetten

However, in a post on X after the talks, Jetten did not mention press freedom or minorities. (AP file photo)As Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the Netherlands concluded Saturday, the remarks by his Dutch counterpart, Rob Jetten, on minority rights and press freedom in India were highlighted by the local media, which the Indian side dismissed as “a lack of understanding”. Ahead of the dinner hosted for PM Modi and his delegation at Catshuis, the Prime Minister’s official residence in The Hague, Jetten, 39, spoke with local reporters about the visit, during which he was asked about various aspects of relations with India.As reported by several Dutch newspapers, Jetten told reporters just before Modi’s arrival at the Catshuis that there were concerns among the Netherlands and other EU member states about “developments in India”.

“It is not only about press freedom, but also about the rights of minorities, who are under severe pressure. That applies in the first place to the Muslim community, but also to many other smaller communities,” Jetten said, according to De Volkskrant. “The concern is to what extent India remains an inclusive society where the same rights apply to everyone.” Jetten said these concerns were “regularly raised” with India, even as sources on the Indian side maintained that this didn’t come up during talks between the two leaders. Jetten said the EU-India free trade agreement would offer opportunities to discuss “other subjects” alongside commercial ties, “from a very personal case like that of Insiya, to the larger themes like human rights in India and strengthening democracy and the rule of law”. Meanwhile, as per NRC, Jetten told the press he had recently had a conversation with the mother of Insiya Hemani, a Dutch girl ‘abducted’ to India by her father in 2016.Story continues below this ad

However, in a post on X after the talks, Jetten did not mention press freedom or minorities. He said his discussion with Modi had covered the Strait of Hormuz’s closure, energy prices, and the Insiya case. In the closing press briefing at the end of Prime PM Modi’s visit to the Netherlands, MEA secretary (West), Sibi George, said such questions stemmed from “the lack of understanding”. “When we became independent, the minority population was 11 per cent; now it is more than 20T,” he said, emphasising that people from all faiths live happily in India. Before the visit, Dutch foreign minister Tom Berendsen told parliament there was growing “frustration” within the government over the lack of progress. As per another Dutch newspaper, NL Times, the mother of Insiya Hemani stood with dozens of supporters outside the gates of Huis ten Bosch palace Saturday as PM Modi arrived as part of his state visit to the Netherlands At the media briefing, the MEA secretary confirmed that “this (Insiya case) was raised by the Netherlands leadership”. Stating that the case was subjudice, he added: “I would not like to comment on this at this stage”.Story continues below this ad On Saturday, Modi held delegation-level talks with Jetten before dinner at the Catshuis. The two sides elevated their ties to a strategic partnership and adopted a roadmap for cooperation across trade, defence, critical technologies, the maritime sector, renewable energy and education. In the joint statement, Jetten condemned the April 2025 Pahalgam terrorist attack and expressed solidarity with India against terrorism.

Divya A reports on travel, tourism, culture and social issues - not necessarily in that order - for The Indian Express. She's been a journalist for over a decade now, working with Khaleej Times and The Times of India, before settling down at Express. Besides writing/ editing news reports, she indulges her pen to write short stories. As Sanskriti Prabha Dutt Fellow for Excellence in Journalism, she is researching on the lives of the children of sex workers in India.

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