Dutch Trade Mission India Very Successful

The Netherlands and India will work together more closely from now on. They will establish a joint committee that will look at how existing barriers can be overcome and how economic ties can be further strengthened. This was reported by Minister Lilianne Ploumen (Foreign Trade) on Tuesday after consultation with the Indian Minister of Commerce Anand Sharma.

Minister Ploumen is this week on a trade mission in India. Together with her, some 40 companies will travel to the capital New Delhi and Mumbai, the financial center of the country. Some of these companies will sign contracts during the trade mission with Indian companies. Other companies will be connected with Indian companies by organizing 'speed dating' sessions , trade dinners and other gatherings.

Ploumen: "It is clear that there is need for more Dutch expertise. I will do everything to ensure that this mission will lead to more orders for Dutch companies."

Minister Ploumen is excited about the promising start of her trade mission. "I received a warm welcome for Dutch investments here in India. My goal is to help Dutch companies, particularly SMEs, to let them grasp the opportunities that the Indian economy offers and remove existing barriers as much as possible.

Good preparation

The trip was already announced for a long time on the site of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Dutch companies were invited to join the trade mission.

The focus of the trade mission are two themes namely, food security and urbanization. This led to the specific subjects of the mission:

• Sustainable urban development assessment

• Urban mobility

• Sanitation

• Urban pollution

• Waste and water management

• Efficient food production

• Cooperation in the field of innovation

India

India with a population of 1.2 billion people, after China the country with the largest population in the world, is developing into a major player on the world with a steady growth of 7 %, huge market size and rapidly rising purchasing power. This combination of factors calls simultaneously to an equally rapid strengthening and sustainability of the economy. The rapidly growing Indian market and the great need for knowledge and technologies offer many opportunities for Dutch businesses.

About a quarter of the population already lives in urban areas and this will grow explosively to some 600 million people. Urbanization will have a huge impact on economic growth in the coming years.

Netherlands is the fifth largest trading partner of India. Through this trade mission Lilianne Ploumen will try to maintain this position or, if possible, improve this position.