netherlands: Water, climate, agriculture, energy in focus as India & the Netherlands mark 75 years of diplomatic relations | India News – Times of India
AMSTERDAM: President Ram Nath Kovind is scheduled to visit the Netherlands this week as both countries mark 75 years of diplomatic relations with four key drivers — water, climate change, agriculture and energy — bolstering this association.
Taking the relationship forward, India and the Netherlands signed a strategic water partnership (SWP) at the ministerial level on March 29. The Indian minister of jal shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and the Netherlands’s minister of infrastructure and water Mark Harbers signed the SWP for “strong and mutually beneficial water cooperation”.
“The SWP forms the working body of our bilateral long-term water cooperation. The SWP provides a solid foundation for bolstering and accelerating the water cooperation between our countries,” Jaime de Bourbon de Parme, the Netherlands’ special climate envoy, told a delegation of Indian journalists last week in Hague, the Dutch capital.
Addressing the Indian delegation, the Netherlands’ special envoy for international water affairs Henk Ovink said water was low on the international agenda. “Water is life yet nobody cares about it. We need to organise more awareness about it. For this, the global summit on water will be held on March 22-24, 2023 at the UN headquarters in New York, which will be hosted by Tajikistan, with the Netherlands being the co-host, where we champion the cause of water,” said Ovink who was appointed the Netherlands’ first international envoy for water in 2015.
Citing the Indian ministry of jal shakti’s working, the Dutch special envoy said it reflected political prioritisation to the cause of water had the highest importance. “It showed a programmatic approach across the country tailored to the local level that involves public-private partnership, which means that India is now institutionally more aware,” Ovink said.
Of global emissions and the need to boost clean energy sources, Dutch climate envoy Bourbon de Parme said since 2010 both India and China have seen an 83% rise in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. “Besides having technical solutions to technical problems, nature-based solutions should be kept in mind. We should not forget nature’s regenerative power. The Netherlands has allocated 35 billion Euros, borrowed from the market, to bring down GHG emissions and move towards cleaner sources of energy like solar and wind. As an alternative to fossil fuels, we also look to import hydrogen from India,” he said.
Sharing a presentation on the growth of agriculture, especially horticulture, with the Indian delegation at the World Horti Center in Naaldwijk, the Netherlands’ special envoy at ministry of agriculture, nature and food quality Frederik Vossenaar said, “Already in the 17th century, more than half of the Dutch population lived in cities. Dutch farmers were producing for the market early. With state-of-the-art greenhouses, we have taken our production to the next level. With just about 5,00,000 hectares of arable land, the Netherlands is the second largest producer of food in the world. Collaboration between the government, private sector, research institutions on national, regional and local level and PPPs are the pillars of success for agriculture in the Netherlands.”
Vossenaar said the Netherlands government and companies are keen to share their knowledge and expertise with the rest of the world, especially India. “It is not our ambition to export tomatoes to the whole world. International cooperation is crucial for the sustained success,” he said.
Taking the relationship forward, India and the Netherlands signed a strategic water partnership (SWP) at the ministerial level on March 29. The Indian minister of jal shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and the Netherlands’s minister of infrastructure and water Mark Harbers signed the SWP for “strong and mutually beneficial water cooperation”.
“The SWP forms the working body of our bilateral long-term water cooperation. The SWP provides a solid foundation for bolstering and accelerating the water cooperation between our countries,” Jaime de Bourbon de Parme, the Netherlands’ special climate envoy, told a delegation of Indian journalists last week in Hague, the Dutch capital.
Addressing the Indian delegation, the Netherlands’ special envoy for international water affairs Henk Ovink said water was low on the international agenda. “Water is life yet nobody cares about it. We need to organise more awareness about it. For this, the global summit on water will be held on March 22-24, 2023 at the UN headquarters in New York, which will be hosted by Tajikistan, with the Netherlands being the co-host, where we champion the cause of water,” said Ovink who was appointed the Netherlands’ first international envoy for water in 2015.
Citing the Indian ministry of jal shakti’s working, the Dutch special envoy said it reflected political prioritisation to the cause of water had the highest importance. “It showed a programmatic approach across the country tailored to the local level that involves public-private partnership, which means that India is now institutionally more aware,” Ovink said.
Of global emissions and the need to boost clean energy sources, Dutch climate envoy Bourbon de Parme said since 2010 both India and China have seen an 83% rise in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. “Besides having technical solutions to technical problems, nature-based solutions should be kept in mind. We should not forget nature’s regenerative power. The Netherlands has allocated 35 billion Euros, borrowed from the market, to bring down GHG emissions and move towards cleaner sources of energy like solar and wind. As an alternative to fossil fuels, we also look to import hydrogen from India,” he said.
Sharing a presentation on the growth of agriculture, especially horticulture, with the Indian delegation at the World Horti Center in Naaldwijk, the Netherlands’ special envoy at ministry of agriculture, nature and food quality Frederik Vossenaar said, “Already in the 17th century, more than half of the Dutch population lived in cities. Dutch farmers were producing for the market early. With state-of-the-art greenhouses, we have taken our production to the next level. With just about 5,00,000 hectares of arable land, the Netherlands is the second largest producer of food in the world. Collaboration between the government, private sector, research institutions on national, regional and local level and PPPs are the pillars of success for agriculture in the Netherlands.”
Vossenaar said the Netherlands government and companies are keen to share their knowledge and expertise with the rest of the world, especially India. “It is not our ambition to export tomatoes to the whole world. International cooperation is crucial for the sustained success,” he said.
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