India and the Netherlands have been in partnership for already more than 400 years. The old Spice Route of the 17th century is revived today; Dutch companies show much interest in Indian water management projects and are contributing to the Smart Cities Mission of the Indian Government. Indian companies on the other hand are becoming more aware of the Netherlands as a "Gateway" to the European markets and our #1 start-up business climate in Europe. The Indo-Dutch collaboration is therefore a win-win situation for both countries!

-H.E. Alphonsus Stoelinga, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to India

Sometime back we realized that not enough was being done to attract investments into Holland. So in 2006, The Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) was set up. Our focus is on attracting investments in ICT, pharmaceuticals and automobile sectors. Our argument for attracting Indian companies to set up business in The Netherlands is three-fold. The first is that Europe starts here. If you want to move into the European market we are a good base, you can reach almost every important destination in Europe through land and air. We back our connectivity up with top quality service centres, distribution points and even world headquarters. Second, we have very transparent taxations laws. They help you to avoid unnecessary risks, as it is there are enough risks in business. Thirdly, we have world class facilities and international schools that are attractive for families intending to move to Holland. Also, maybe the world is not as flat as Thomas Friedman once thought it to be. For if you are required to be active at the higher end of business, you need to be closer to your customers in providing high-end solutions. That is why big businesses like Wipro, TCS, Infosys have set up base in Holland. Now when it comes to outgoing foreign direct investments from India, the foremost destination is Singapore followed by Holland. The other way round we are number five. The first is Mauritius, which is mainly for tax reasons, then the USA, UK, Singapore and then Holland. So we are an important source of FDI into India and most of our important companies are all here-Royal Dutch Shell, ING Vyasa, Phillips. The last named now has a research laboratory in Bangalore.

-H.E. Mr Bob Hiensch, Ambassador of The Netherlands in India