New Delhi: India and the Netherlands on Friday announced the establishment of a joint trade and investment committee (JTIC) to provide an institutional framework for deepening bilateral economic engagement. The decision was formalized through a memorandum of understanding signed between India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The announcement was made during the visit of Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel to India, coinciding with his bilateral meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. The new mechanism is aimed at strengthening cooperation in trade and investment, addressing existing barriers, and identifying new opportunities for collaboration in sectors of mutual interest.
Under the MoU, the JTIC will meet annually, with meetings held alternately in India and the Netherlands. It will be co-chaired by the Additional Secretary in India’s Department of Commerce and the Director General for Foreign Economic Relations in the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and will include officials and designated representatives from both sides.
The committee is expected to focus on facilitating trade and investment flows, promoting interaction between industry bodies and chambers of commerce, and encouraging greater participation of micro, small and medium enterprises. It will also explore cooperation in areas such as technology exchange, innovation and resilient supply chains.
The move reflects a shared intent to strengthen the strategic economic partnership between the two countries and support sustainable and inclusive growth.
Quad concludes exercise to strengthen Indo-Pacific logistics
Quad partners (Australia, India, Japan and the United States) successfully conducted their first field training exercise (FTX) from December 8 to 12, on the sidelines of ‘Operation Christmas Drop’ at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, as part of the Quad Indo-Pacific Logistics Network (IPLN), the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on Friday. .
The IPLN is an initiative that enables Quad partners to leverage shared logistics capabilities to support civilian response to large-scale natural disasters more rapidly and efficiently across the Indo-Pacific to save lives, boost recovery efforts, and provide support for regional partners.
“This FTX strengthened the Quad partners’ disaster response capacity through training activities, including boarding a Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) C-130H transport aircraft. The FTX focused on interoperability and coordination between Quad partners’ capabilities. This capacity is key to the Quad’s goal to better support regional partners in moments of need,” the MEA statement said.
“Together with the IPLN Tabletop Exercise (TTX) conducted in April 2025, this FTX reflected the Quad’s commitment to strengthening practical cooperation to address regional challenges and to ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific. In the future, we plan to explore regular IPLN activities including tabletop and field training exercises, confidence building measures, and subject matter expert exchanges,” it added.