New Delhi / The Hague — Updated May 16, 2026
Prime Minister Narendra Modi used high-level meetings in the Netherlands to cast India as a reliable European partner for technology and manufacturing, as Tata Electronics signed a landmark agreement with Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML. The memorandum, signed in The Hague and witnessed by Modi and Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten, paves the way for India’s first front-end semiconductor fabrication facility in Dholera, Gujarat.
ASML, the world leader in advanced lithography systems essential to chip production, will collaborate with Tata Electronics on the project. Indian officials say the partnership is a major step toward building a domestic semiconductor ecosystem and cutting reliance on fragile global supply chains.
Semiconductors were the focal point of Modi’s engagements in the Netherlands, which also included meetings with senior executives from Dutch companies active in ports, logistics, clean energy, healthcare, aviation, agribusiness and technology. Modi and Jetten urged deeper business-to-business ties in areas such as chipmaking, maritime infrastructure, renewable energy, artificial intelligence and digital services.
Both leaders emphasized the importance of an early conclusion to an India–European Union free trade agreement, calling it critical to creating resilient, trusted supply chains in a shifting global economic and geopolitical environment.
Executives from major Dutch firms — including Philips, NXP Semiconductors, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Heineken and the Port of Rotterdam — signaled interest in expanding investments and operations in India.
Earlier in the day, Modi met King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima at Huis ten Bosch palace, where officials reviewed cooperation across education, innovation, digital technologies, water management and green partnerships. Modi recalled the royal couple’s 2019 state visit to India as an inflection point that strengthened bilateral momentum.
The ASML–Tata agreement and Modi’s outreach underline India’s push to be seen by Europe as a trusted manufacturing, technology and supply-chain partner at a time of intensifying economic realignments.
