New Delhi: In a major effort to strengthen ties between the two countries, Netherlands King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima have arrived in India late on Sunday for a five-day visit.
This is Willem-Alexander's first state visit to India following his ascension to the throne in 2013.
During the visit, they will hold meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Kovind. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will call on the Dutch King.
The royal couple would be accompanied on their visit by a senior ministerial delegation, an External Affairs Ministry release said.
Apart from the official programme in Delhi, the King and the Queen will also visit Mumbai and Kerala.
The royal couple will attend the inaugural session of 25th Technology Summit in New Delhi.
The Netherlands is the partner country for this Summit. The King and the Queen would be accompanied by about 140 business houses for this technology and innovation fair, representing various sectors, including agriculture, water, health-care and climate change.
Trade between the two countries
India and the Netherlands have a bilateral trade turnover of USD 12.87 billion (2018-2019). The Netherlands is the 5th largest investor in India in terms of FDI inflows with cumulative investments of US$ 22.63 billion comprising 6% of total FDI inflows between the periods of April 2000 to September 2017.
Indian Diaspora in the Netherlands
The Netherlands has the second largest population of people of Indian origin in Europe, next only to the UK. A 2,35,000-strong Indian Diaspora (2,00,000 Surinami-Hindustani community and 35,000 NRIs/PIOs) is an important element that helps foster closer ties with the Netherlands.
Indo-Dutch relations
Indo-Dutch contacts go back to more than 400 years. Official relations, which were established in 1947, have been cordial and friendly. The main plank of the bilateral ties has been the strong economic and commercial relations. The two countries also share common ideals of democracy, pluralism and the rule of law.
Since the early 1980s, the Dutch Government has identified India as an important economic partner. The bilateral relations underwent further intensification after India’s economic liberalization in the early 1990s.
The highlight of 2017, which was the 70th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between India and the Netherlands, was the visit of PM Modi to the Netherlands on June 2017. The visit provided a significant boost to the bilateral ties, which have become multifaceted and encompass cooperation in various areas.
Indian Cultural Centre named “The Gandhi Centre” in The Hague was inaugurated on 2 October 2011. The Centre promotes Indian culture through its active calendar of programmes including regular Yoga, Table and for the first time, Hindi classes.
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