• The Netherlands has emerged as India’s third largest export destination after the US and UAE during 2023-24.

• The Netherlands has overtaken major destinations such as the UK, Hong Kong, Bangladesh and Germany.

• India’s exports to the Netherlands rose by about 3.5 per cent to $22.36 billion in 2023-24 as against $21.61 billion in 2022-23.

• In 2021-22 and 2020-21, the outbound shipments to the European country stood at $12.55 billion and $6.5 billion, respectively.

• The main commodities which registered healthy exports growth in the Netherlands include petroleum products ($14.29 billion), electrical goods, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals in the last fiscal.

• India’s trade surplus with the Netherlands has increased to $17.4 billion in the last fiscal from $13 billion in 2022-23.

• The exports have been registering healthy growth continuously since 2000-01, when India’s exports to that nation were $880 million.

• Further, in 2021-22, the Netherlands was the fifth largest destination for Indian exports as against the ninth largest in 2020-21.

• According to trade experts, the Netherlands has emerged as a hub for Europe with efficient ports and connectivity with the EU through roads, railways and waterways.

India-Netherlands relations

• India and Netherlands established official relations in 1947. Since the early 1980s, the Dutch government has identified India as an important economic partner. 

• Bilateral relations underwent further intensification after India’s economic liberalisation in the early 1990s. In 2006, former Prime Minister Balkenende’s government declared India, along with China and Russia, as priority countries in Dutch foreign policy.

• Trade and commercial relations constitute the bedrock of bilateral ties between the two countries. 

• The Netherlands is India’s largest trading partner in Europe (2022-23) and fourth largest investor in India.

• In 2023-24, the bilateral trade between the two countries marginally dipped to $27.34 billion as against $27.58 billion in 2022-23.

• During the last fiscal, India received about $5 billion in foreign direct investment from the Netherlands. It was $2.6 billion in 2022-23.

• There are over 300 Dutch companies present in India, including Philips, Signify, Akzo Nobel, DSM, Heineken, KLM and others. Netherlands is now the fourth largest destination for Overseas Direct Investment (ODI) by Indian companies.

• Dutch water expertise is amongst the best in the world. In order to find solutions for water related challenges a platform called Dutch Indo Water Alliance Leadership Initiative (DIWALI) has been developed in which India and Netherlands could participate in designing solutions for water challenges.

• The Netherlands is engaged with various states and municipalities in India to implement water related projects including the states of Uttar Pradesh (Namami Ganga Programme), Tamil Nadu (water as leverage, water management and conservation) and Kerala (flood management).

• Agriculture is one of the core sectors identified by the Netherlands for enhancing bilateral cooperation with India.

• The Netherlands is keen to intensify its business relations with India to emerge as the country’s hub for doing business with Europe. Both the countries complement each other and by working together can combine forces to find new solutions to shape the future and tackle societal challenges, especially in the energy and climate sectors.

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