Netherlands PM Drinks Tea & Cycles in Bengaluru
During his visit to Bengaluru, Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte, he met with Karnataka's deputy chief minister, casually cycled and strolled down the street.
Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who arrived in India to attend the G20 Summit that happened in Delhi and then went to Bengaluru. During his visit, he met with Karnataka's deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar at Vidhana Soudha and conducted a round table conference to explore investment opportunities in Karnataka.
On Church Street seemed like any other day for visitors, shoppers, and employees at the numerous retail outlets. However, it quickly turned into an unexpected treat as they witnessed Mark Rutte, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, casually cycling and strolling down the street. The visit was a government decision. The Bengaluru government wanted to show Rutte the beauty of Bengaluru. Rutte was accompanied by MLA NA Haris, bicycle mayor Sathya Sankaran, and architect Naresh Narasimhan. They all walked from Brigade Road towards Church Street which is in the heart of the city. Later, Rutte cycled a short distance before continuing on foot. He paused along the way to greet onlookers, take selfies, and finally addressed the media at the end of his stroll. Videos of him cycling went viral on social media. Later, Rutte made a pit stop at Chai Point for some desi chai. He really enjoyed the masala tea and said that in the Netherlands everyone drinks black tea. But milk tea is so tasty and I hoped it would become popular in his country. Rutte paid for his chai using UPI. Rutte took to X to share his experiences from Church Street in the city. He said, “The Netherlands and India have wide-ranging economic ties. Over 350 Dutch companies do business here. India and the Netherlands also share the same enterprising spirit and capacity for innovation. We work together in areas like agriculture and water management, and more opportunities are opening up all the time. This was the focus of my trip to Bangalore, in the south of India. We discussed his sustainable vision for the city, with lots more space for cyclists and public transport.”
The Netherlands PM was impressed with India's UPI method and called it 'simple and easy,' saying it was fascinating to go through the experience once. Rutte extended his congratulations to PM Modi for the successful hosting of the G20 Summit during India's presidency. He also commended India's achievements in space exploration, particularly the Chandrayaan mission, and conveyed his best wishes for the Aditya mission to the Sun.
