India, one of our focus countries: Dutch official

CHENNAI: “The Dutch economy has come out of recession. We did not have an economic growth rate like India's, but we are definitely growing,” said Marten van den Berg, Deputy Director General for Foreign Economic Relations, Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Netherlands on Thursday.

Delivering the keynote address at a seminar on “Doing business with the Netherlands” organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry, he said “we are forecasting a growth rate of 1.5 per cent to 2 per cent next year. India has impressed the world by showing that its economic growth had been resilient against the global downturn. Therefore, India is one of our focus countries and we wish to continue to expand our relationship. International trade and investments are the driving force for economic recovery and future growth.”

Bilateral trade

Leading a 35-member business delegation to India, Mr. Berg said that the bilateral trade between the two countries had tripled between 2001 and 2008. He called upon Indian and the Dutch enterprises to intensify bilateral economic co-operation and capitalise on new trade and investment opportunities in fields such as agro-industry, automotive, ICT, water management, life sciences and health, logistics, infrastructure and the creative industry.