The Netherlands today said it identifies India as an important economic partner and offered its expertise in a number of fields to boost bilateral ties.
"The Netherlands identifies India as an important economic partner. India is investing heavily in research in our country and has provided a good number of professionals in the field of engineering," Dutch Ambassador to India Alphonsus Stoelinga said here.
He said the European country is ready to help Indian Government and businesses in the areas of reclamation of ocean land, erection of cold storages and supply chain management of agricultural products.
Stoelinga said the Indo-Dutch relations are more than 400 years old and currently his country has business links with Tata Group, Apollo and Infosys, among other corporates.
Big Dutch groups have also invested in India resulting in noticeable growth in business, the Ambassador said.
Calling for further strengthening of trade ties, he said, "India's exports to the Netherlands currently stood at nearly 10 billion euros a year, while imports are about 3.5 billion euros a year."
Stoelinga was here on an official visit. He was accompanied by Peter De Haan, General Counsel of DSM (A Dutch MNC) and Pankaj Sudan, Director, Corporate Affairs, DSM.
DSM, a life sciences company, today inaugurated its Fortitech premixes plant near here. The plant will be one-stop source for food, beverage and pharmaceutical manufacturers looking for fortification as a way to differentiate their products from their competition, company officials said.
"This plant is a perfect example of Dutch FDI in India. DSM is recognised for its global leadership in initiatives related to food security, preventing hidden hunger and promoting sustainable development in high growth economies," Stoelinga said at the inauguration ceremony.
The new plant will service the South Asian market with its teams split between Delhi and Mumbai, as well as a business development group.
Stoelinga later met vice-chancellor of city-based M S University (MSU) Magan Parmar and other officials. The meeting was organised to discuss academic collaboration between MSU and Universities and Institutes of The Netherlands.
