Dutch Trade Mission to focus on inviting investments

Hindu Business Line
5 April 2010, by Anil Sasi

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2010/04/06/stories/2010040652480700.htm

40-member team to cover New Delhi, Chennai, Pune, Mumbai
The Netherlands has been striving to sharpen its position as a hub for Indian companies that want to enter the European market

In a bid to strengthen bilateral engagements between India and the Netherlands, a high-level Netherlands Economic Mission to India is on a 5-day visit to the country starting Monday.

While a sizeable number of the participants are from the agro-industries and the automotive sectors, the mission will also focus on the life sciences and health, logistics and infrastructure, ICT (Information, communication and technology) and the creative industry sectors.

The mission, headed by Mr Marten van den Berg, Deputy Director-General for Foreign Economic Relations, brings 40 delegates from 27 companies and will cover New Delhi, Chennai, Pune and Mumbai.

The Netherlands has been striving to sharpen its position as a hub for Indian companies that want to enter the European market and the Mission will drive home the advantages that Amsterdam and other Dutch cities offer as investment destinations.

Among the events planned during the visit, at Chennai a seminar on “Doing Business with the Netherlands” is being organised on the investment climate of the Netherlands and highlighting the importance of the country for Indian companies that have the ambition to expand in Europe.

Orange Nano

To highlight the Dutch-Indian bilateral cooperation in the field of technology and innovation, a symbolic Orange Tata Nano will be unveiled by the Dutch Ambassador to India, Mr Bob Hiensch, in Delhi. The Dutch firm DSM collaborated with Tata Motors in the production of the Tata Nano.

The Netherlands has been among the few major economies in mainland Europe that have shown resilience in riding out the recent downturn. Despite the economic crisis, foreign investments in the Netherlands increased in 2009 with a total investment amount of €3.1 billion. Foreign companies and international trade accounted for an important part of the economic growth: about 30 per cent of gross national product in the Netherlands.

“The Netherlands has a strong proposition and that create high added values. We are trying to improve the bilateral economic engagements by stimulating the growth of trade and investment and cooperation in science and technology through an intensive information and promotional campaign, sectoral focus, cluster approach, long-term programme aimed at partnership, timely and concerted planning of economic mission and bilateral agreement… Information, communication and technology is one of the five largest export revenue earner for the Netherlands, and has been growing at 4-5 per cent every year. This offers Indian firms a huge opportunity by way of outsourcing and export and import of computer parts and systems,” Ms Jolanda van der Aart, who runs the India Desk at the Amsterdam Foreign Investment Office told Business Line.