India and the Netherlands discussed ways to further strengthen defence cooperation on Tuesday, during a meeting in New Delhi between Chief of Defence Staff General N.S. Raja Subramani and the Netherlands Ambassador to India, Marisa Gerards, IANS reported.

Following the meeting, Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS) posted on X: 'General NS Raja Subramani CDS, interacted with HE Ms Marisa Gerards, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to India. The interaction reaffirmed the strong bilateral ties and explored avenues to further strengthen India-Netherlands defence cooperation.' IANS and multiple national outlets carried the same HQ IDS account of the meeting.

The CDS-level talks follow last month's meeting between External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his Dutch counterpart Tom Berendsen on the sidelines of the 81st UN General Assembly session, where the two exchanged views on the Ukraine conflict and followed up on deliverables from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the Netherlands earlier this year, IANS reported.

During that May visit, Modi and Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten decided to elevate the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership and agreed a roadmap to deepen cooperation in trade and investment, defence and security, emerging and critical technologies, the maritime sector, renewable energy and education, according to the Ministry of External Affairs statement cited by IANS.

Sources: IANS; Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS) on X; Ministry of External Affairs statement via IANS.