Jaishankar meets Netherland's Defence Minister Brekelmans, discusses security challenges

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday met Dutch Defence Minister Ruben Brekelmans in The Hague and discussed security-related affairs.

Jaishankar is on a three-nation tour of the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany. On the first leg of his visit in The Hague, he also held talks with Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp earlier in the day.

In a post on X, Jaishankar said he exchanged views on security perspective and challenges and discussed the benefits of forging a bilateral defence partnership.

It is Jaishankar’s first foreign visit since the four-day India-Pakistan conflict that saw India strike terrorist sites in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK) and hammer Pakistani airbases, air defence sites, radar installations, and other military infrastructure.

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Pleased to meet Defence Minister Ruben Brekelmans in The Hague today.

Exchanged views on our respective security perspectives and challenges. Also spoke about the benefits of forging a bilateral defence partnership. @DefensieMin

🇮🇳 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/RZ4SPQDnKT

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) May 19, 2025

Brekelmans said in a post on X that “close cooperation with India is more important than ever” in “turbulent times” such as today.

In these turbulent times close cooperation with India is more important than ever.

Great honour to receive Minister of Foreign Affairs @DrSJaishankar. We discuss security challenges in Asia/Europe and our Defence partnership.

Looking forward to deepening our cooperation! 🇳🇱🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/b1g20LmTgW

— Ruben Brekelmans (@DefensieMin) May 19, 2025

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Regarding his meeting with Veldkamp, Jaishankar said that he appreciated the Netherland’s strong condemnation of the Pahalgam attack and support for zero tolerance against terrorism.

Jaishankar further said that he held “wide-ranging discussions on deepening our bilateral partnership and engagement with the EU” and “exchanged views on the global situation in an era of multi polarity”.

Later in the day, Jaishankar also interacted with the Indian diaspora in The Hague.

In his engagements with the senior officials of the three nations, it is expected that Jaishankar will apprise them about India’s decision to launch Operation Sindoor in response to the Pahalgam attack, according to PTI.