The Netherlands is looking at an agreement with India on chips, critical technology: Dutch minister

New -Delhi: The Netherlands, a world leader in semiconductors, wants to finalize an agreement with India for collaboration in discs and critical technologies that will focus on trade and research, Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Field Camp said. Foreign Minister Jaishankar with Foreign Minister in the Netherlands, Caspar Veldkamp, ​​at a meeting in New -Delhi. (@Drchaishankar) The two countries, which work to upgrade their relations to a strategic partnership in a time of growing unrest and uncertainty all over the world, can also compare notes with the handling of the US administration’s planned reciprocal rates, field camp told journalists on Tuesday. Field Camp, which was on a two -day visit to India from 31 March, met Foreign Minister Ajit Deval to investigate ways to increase bilateral ties, especially in areas such as trade, technology and safety. Noted that there is already cooperation between the two parties in semiconductors, he said: “We look forward to signing a memorandum of understanding about semiconductors and critical technology later this year that will focus on trading, research and development, mobility of workforce, etc.” “We want to use the ambition of the Indian government over the development of the country to a semiconductor nap,” he said, adding that the Netherlands considered India as a ‘safe space’ for cooperation in this area. The Netherlands is regarded as a world leader in the semiconductor industry, with a global market share of 9%placing it fourth behind the US (52%), Taiwan (16%) and China (12%). Dutch semiconductor -major subjects such as ASML and NXP -Halphous conductors viewed the collaboration with India. Field Camp said the Netherlands is eager to strengthen its ties with a ‘geopolitical power like India’ amid a shifting geopolitical landscape with war, turmoil and uncertainty seen all over the world. “In the field of security interest for us, it’s important to be related to China,” he said without going into detail. “We see, as a European country, that the gravity of the world is slightly shifting to the global south and more to the east, where India is an important country,” he said. The two parties have shared security interests in this changing world and the role of India in the Indo-Pacific is very important for freedom of navigation and international law, he said. In this context, the two parties plan to upgrade their relations to a strategic partnership, Veldkamp said. While the European Union (EU) will be responsible for the response to US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal rates, it is important for the EU member states to compare “notes” with India on “these cases that affect us all,” he said. The reaction of the EU, he said, is expected to be “unity, proportional and robust”. The Netherlands, as a trading center, believes that tariffs infringe on the wealth of countries to influence the trade. “These rates will ultimately not be beneficial to the US consumer. The inflationary pressure that rates brings will certainly be there in the US economy,” Veldkamp said. In response to a question about the Netherlands’ weapons sales to Pakistan, Veldkamp said the Dutch government refuses more export licenses than it approves of Islamabad, while the approval of such licenses for New -Delhi is “100%”. During a visit to India last month by Dutch Minister of Defense Ruben Berkelmans, Defense Minister Rubnath Singh expressed his concern about border -crossing terrorism and urged the Netherlands to ensure that Dutch enterprises do not provide weapons, platforms or technology to Pakistan.