PM Modi extends best wishes to Dutch counterpart Rutte for successful 4th term in office

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday extended best wishes to his Netherlands counterpart Mark Rutte on the "successful" continuation of the fourth term in office. Affirming confidence over cordial relations between the two nations, PM Modi said that he expects the both countries will together take forward the wide-ranging partnership "to new heights." His remarks come after PM Rutte along with Dutch King Willem-Alexander sworn in a new ruling coalition on Monday. 

The new Dutch government has outlined several plans to spend big on climate change issues and tackle the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, it also issued guidelines in the Indo-Pacific in 2020 which identifies India as the key partner. Both India and the Netherlands mutually recognise close convergence between each other's vision for free, inclusive and open trade in the Indo-Pacific, ANI reported.

Dutch coalition govt. sworn in after 10 months since the Netherlands elections

The Dutch coalition government took their oaths at the Royal Palace Noordeinde in The Hague at least 10 months after the general elections were held in March 2021. The cabinet consists of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) led by PM Rutte. In addition, it also includes the Christian Democratic Party (CDA), the Center-Left Democrats Party 66 (D66) and a small unit of centrist Christian Union (CU).

For a recap, general elections in the Netherlands took place from March 15 to 17 after the former cabinet of Rutte stepped down on January 15, 2021, claiming political responsibility for a child benefit tax scandal that wrongly accused many parents of being fraudsters for claiming childcare benefits. PM Rutte's VVD party emerged as the winner in the March elections with 34 seats out of 150 at the House of Representatives, followed by 24 seats by D66. Together with CU and CDA, the new cabinet amassed a majority of 78 seats. The parties jointly reached an agreement on December 13 to form a coalition, at least 299 days since the public polls.

[The new Dutch cabinet that sworn in on Monday at the Royal Palace Noordeinde in The Hague. Image: AP]

Women get parity within the Dutch govt.

As PM Mark Rutte went on to become the longest-serving leader of the Netherlands, for the first time in the history of the country his cabinet comprises at at least 10 female politicians out of the 20 senior Cabinet ministers. One of them is Sigrid Kaag, the new Finance Minister hailing from D66. Kaag sworn in on Monday through a videoconferencing as she was isolated on testing positive for COVID-19, Euro News reported.

(Image: AP/PTI)