By Mubasshir Mushtaq
MUMBAI, India
The prime ministers of the Netherlands and India signed agreements for the manufacturing of rubella and measles vaccines in India, they announced during a joint press conference in Delhi on Friday.
“Our agreements today are closely aligned with India’s economic priorities,” 64-year-old Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, adding that his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte had expressed support Modi's plan to grow India's manufacturing industry, named Make In India.
Modi said that the agreement on measles and rubella vaccines will see a “transfer of technology” and will help the country’s manufacturing sector and healthcare.
Rutte, who is on a three-day official visit, was accompanied by a large trade delegation of over 80 Dutch companies.
“The Netherlands and India have strong trade relations. Make In India is beneficial for both nations,” Rutte said, adding that exports to India stood at 1.6 billion euros and imports from India at 4.1 billion euros.
“We agreed that we both stand to benefit from closer bilateral and multilateral collaboration, including in areas such as countering terrorism and extremism, defence, maritime security and cyber security,” Modi said.
