THE HAGUE, May 27. /TASS/. The Netherlands expects to use its position in the global semiconductor industry to strengthen its geopolitical influence and forge new international coalitions, Prime Minister Rob Jetten said.

"Geopolitical power is increasingly equated with technological prowess. Wars are no longer won solely on the battlefield - with tanks and weapons," he said in his speech at the Next Gen: Security Conference in The Hague. Jetten clarified that the Netherlands, thanks to ASML and other companies in its domestic semiconductor industry, occupies a "unique position" in the global technology supply chain.

The prime minister also noted that the Netherlands had recently announced a strategic partnership with India in the semiconductor sector. According to him, New Delhi intends to secure a 10% share of the global market in this field, with the Netherlands, and ASML in particular, expected to play a "major role" in this effort.

Furthermore, the head of government expressed the view that the EU should not cede leadership in artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and quantum technologies "solely to China and a few American tech giants."

ASML is the largest technology company in the Netherlands and one of the world's key manufacturers of semiconductor production equipment. The corporation holds a de facto monopoly on the production of lithography machines required to manufacture the most advanced microchips. In recent years, the company has been at the center of a technological standoff between the US and China: under pressure from Washington, the Dutch government has restricted the export of several advanced ASML systems to the PRC.