Between May 15 and May 20, 2026, PM Modi has returned after visiting five countries in just six days. This journey was not limited to just foreign hospitality or photo sessions, but India returned from every stop with something that would directly give a new dimension to the country’s energy security, chip manufacturing, green energy and business strength. From UAE to Italy, each meeting resulted in agreements that will impact our wallets, our jobs and our security for decades to come. Let us know what exactly PM Modi returned from these five places?

First stop- United Arab Emirates (UAE): New chapter of energy security

PM Modi reached Abu Dhabi first thing on the morning of 15 May. In this short stay of about 3 hours, 7 agreements were signed between the two countries, the most important of which was ‘Strategic Petroleum Reserve Agreement’. This big deal on strategic oil reserves:

• UAE’s national oil company ADNOC will now store 30 million barrels of crude oil in India’s strategic oil reserves. In case of war or interruption in supply, India will have the first right on this reserve. UAE will also pay rent to India for this storage.
• Currently, India has three strategic oil reserves in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, with a capacity of 53.3 lakh metric tons (about 40 million barrels), but they are only 65% ​​filled. After this deal, India’s strategic oil reserves will increase from the current 9 days of consumption to 14-15 days.
• The most special thing about this deal is that instead of passing through the Strait of Hormuz, this UAE oil will directly reach Fujairah port through a special pipeline from Hashban Oil Field, from where ships can come to India. This will provide India with a safe and reliable supply route.

Apart from this, UAE will build a big ship repair center and training center for sailors at Vadinar port in Gujarat. Besides, it was also agreed to invest $3 billion (about Rs 48,000 crore) in infrastructure, banking and financial sectors.

Second Stop – Netherlands: Semiconductor Revolution and Critical Minerals

PM Modi reached Amsterdam at around 9 pm on 15th May and stayed for about one and a half day. During this, he met the royal family and the Prime Minister and a total of 17 agreements were signed. Two of these agreements are very important:

• Historic deals in chip-making: Netherlands’ giant ASML has partnered with Tata Electronics in chip manufacturing. Tata is setting up India’s first semiconductor plant in Dholera, Gujarat at a cost of Rs 91,000 crore. ASML will help in starting chip production there with its monopoly lithography technology. This will reduce India’s dependence on chip imports, which is currently 90%. Chips worth Rs 1.05 lakh crore were imported in 2023-24.
• Support for vital minerals: Netherlands will provide India with modern technology for exploration and mining of 30 important minerals like cobalt, lithium, graphite and nickel. Currently, India imports 70% to 100% of its requirement of minerals from countries like China.

Other than this:

• Kalpasar Project: Water management expert Netherlands will help in the design and engineering of the 30 km long dam to be built on the Gulf of Khambhat in Gujarat.
• Return of cultural heritage: The Netherlands returned 21 large and 3 small copper plates of the 11th century Chola dynasty to India. Dutch missionaries took them to Europe in the 18th century and India was trying to bring them back since 2012.

Third stop – Sweden: path to strategic partnership and free trade

PM Modi reached Stockholm on 17 May. Here he was awarded the ‘Royal Order of the Polar Star’, Sweden’s highest civilian honour. In Sweden: Strategic Partnership Enhanced: Relations between India and Sweden were elevated to the level of ‘Strategic Partnership’ and a target was set to double bilateral trade in the next 5 years.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in her meeting with PM Modi, promised that she would sign this agreement by the end of the year. Under this deal, tariffs on 96.6% of goods coming to India from Europe will be completely removed or greatly reduced. Europe will also do the same on 99.5% of the goods coming from India.

Fourth stop- Norway: Historic journey and green energy after 43 years

PM Modi reached Oslo on 18 May. This was the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Norway in 43 years, before which Indira Gandhi had gone there in 1983. Many important agreements were signed here between the two countries:

• Green Strategic Partnership: Agreements were reached between the two countries on 12 issues, the most important of which is ‘Green Strategic Partnership’. Under this, Norway will make big investments in India’s clean energy (solar, wind, hydroelectric, nuclear) projects. It is noteworthy that 98% of Norway’s electricity supply comes from clean energy, whereas India has a target of producing 500 GW of clean energy by 2030, against which only 283.46 GW of capacity has been installed by April 2026.
• Talk on LPG purchase: Norway is Europe’s largest oil producer and produces about 2 million barrels of crude oil daily. Since the Iran war, India has increased the purchase of LPG from Norway and is exploring options to buy more oil from there in future.

Fifth stop – Italy: business, IMEC and friendship of ‘Melody’

On the last leg of his European tour, PM Modi reached Rome on May 19 and met Prime Minister Georgia Meloni. Both the leaders traveled in the same car and also took selfies in the 2,000 year old Colosseum. After this Melodi started trending on social media. Two major agreements were signed between India and Italy:

• Agreed on taking forward IMEC: India and Italy decided to advance the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). This project will connect India to the Middle East and Europe through railways, ports and shipping networks, which can reduce the time and cost of delivering goods from India to Europe by 30-40%.
• Collaboration in AI and Cyber ​​Security: Both the countries decided to give the status of ‘Special Strategic Partnership’ to their relations and set a target of taking bilateral trade to more than 20 billion euros by 2029. At present there is a trade of 14 billion euros (about Rs 1.60 lakh crore) between the two countries.