Amsterdam: A delegation led by K V L Kantha Rao, Secretary at the Jal Shakti ministry, visited the Netherlands to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in the area of water management and for holding technical consultations on the Kalpasar Project in Gujarat.
According to the Indian Embassy in the Netherlands, the visiting team met Jaap Slootmaker, the Director General in the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management and held discussions at the RVO (Netherlands Enterprise Agency), TU Delft and Deltares.
“A delegation led by the Secretary of India’s Ministry of Jal Shakti, Mr. K V L Kantha Rao, visited the Netherlands (14 to 17 July 2026) to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in the area of water management, and for technical consultations on the Kalpasar Project. Among other engagements, the team met with the Director General in the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management Mr. Jaap Slootmaker and had fruitful discussions at the RVO (Netherlands Enterprise Agency), TU Delft and Deltares. The delegation also conducted field visits, including a tour of the Afsluitdijk project,” the Embassy wrote on X.
In May, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Afsluitdijk Dam along with his Netherlands counterpart Rob Jetten and praised the country for doing a ‘pioneering work’ in water management.
According to PM Modi, an area in which the Netherlands has done exceptional work is water resources and there is a lot the entire global community can learn from them.
“We are working to bring modern technology to India aimed at helping in irrigation, flood control and expanding the inland waterway network,” PM Modi said.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), PM Modi’s visit to the dam highlighted the relevance of Dutch expertise for India’s Kalpasar Project in Gujarat which aims to create a freshwater reservoir and dam near the Gulf of Khambhat. The visit also underscored opportunities for deeper Indo-Dutch collaboration in climate resilience, water technology and sustainable infrastructure.
(IANS)
