3 min readNew DelhiMay 17, 2026 05:25 AM IST
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday hailed the Indian diaspora in the Netherlands as a vibrant bridge between the two nations.
He urged all “friends of India” in the Netherlands to deepen their engagement with India. Even as he sought to underline the nation’s development since the formation of the BJP-led government in 2014, PM Modi laid stress on India and the Netherlands’ resilience in the midst of what was globally playing out to be “a decade of disasters”.
“Today is May 16 and this day is special because of another reason. Twelve years ago, on May 16, 2014, something special had happened… the Lok Sabha results had come in. After decades, there was certainty of a stable and majority government in India. Then as today, the immense trust reposed in me by Indians neither allows me to stop nor to tire,” he said.
Modi recalled the deep and enduring historical ties of the Surinami-Hindustani community with India, commending their efforts to preserve and celebrate their rich cultural heritage across generations. Underlining India’s ambition to become a global growth engine, he said it has achieved record progress in creation of infra ranging from highways to being home to the third-largest start-up ecosystem in the world.
“If a nation wants to progress, it must dream big. Today, our India is dreaming big too. Today it says we do not want just transformation, we want the best. Not just the best, we want the fastest… When aspirations in India are unlimited, efforts are becoming limitless,” he said.
“India’s aspirations are no longer limited to its boundaries. It wants to host the Olympics, become a global manufacturing hub, a leader in green technology and the world’s growth engine,” the PM said.
From rail electrification and operationalising high-speed trains such as Vande Bharat, India is achieving the biggest targets as it progresses through a phase of “unprecedented transformation”, he said.
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“This aspiration-driven journey of India is also empowering our democracy. When people’s dreams are realised, their trust in democracy is also strengthened… Assam, Bengal, Keralam, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry saw 80 to 90% voting this time. Women participation increased significantly,” he said.
“Today, humanity is facing significant challenges too… First Corona came then wars began and now there is an energy crisis. This decade is becoming one of global disasters for the world… If these conditions do not change, the achievements of previous years will go to waste,” he said. “The world is talking of resilient supply chains and India and the Netherlands are engaged in building a trusted and future-ready supply chain. From energy security to water security, the Netherlands and India are working together.”
