Indian Defence Ministry’s Goa Shipyard Limited signs MoU with Netherlands’ based Damen Shipyards

The Indian Defence Ministry’s Goa Shipyard Limited signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Damen Shipyards for collaborating in the field of e-Tugs, in the presence of the Netherlands’ Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Liesje Schreinemacher.

The MoU further paves the way for new vistas in providing cutting-edge, reliable, and green solutions to Indian ports, according to Goa Shipyard Limited.

The Damen Group is a Dutch defence, shipbuilding, and engineering conglomerate company based in Gorinchem, Netherlands. With 54 companies, it has shipyards and service hubs all over the world.

Netherlands Minister Schreinemacher on Thursday, called India a “big geopolitical player” for the Netherlands.

She praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his work to make India a “really important geopolitical player.”

In an interview with ANI, Schreinemacher stated that India and the Netherlands have a “very good economic partnership.” She noted that the economic ties between the two countries are about 20 billion euros and she believes that they can only grow the number.

Asked about PM Modi’s work for India, the Netherlands Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation said, “Well, you see that India is becoming a really important geopolitical player, and I think that that’s also because of the way that your prime minister has acted and has put India on the map. So in that sense, you can say that he has a big role in that sense.”

Highlighting India’s role in the Indo-Pacific, Schreinemacher said India is a big geopolitical player and economic player for the Netherlands.

She said, “For us, it’s very important that we see India really as a big geopolitical player and economic player here in the region. So when we talk about Indo-Pacific stability and security, we cannot do that without India. So we need India, and this is also why I’m here, to enhance this cooperation when it comes to maritime security, but also, of course, as a minister for trade, to see where we can improve our economic relations. We already have good economic relations, but we can always improve it.”