India - Relations

Indo-Dutch contacts go back to more than 400 years. Official relations, which were established in 1947, have been cordial and friendly. India's economic growth, its large market, its pool of knowledge workers are of interest to the Netherlands. 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. In 2006, former Prime Minister Balkenende's Government declared India, along with China and Russia, as priority countries in Dutch foreign policy. The recent successful visit of the Dutch PM to India (5-7 June 2015) has set the stage to take our ties to the next level and realize the full potential of our relationship. Today, relations between India and the Netherlands have become multifaceted and encompass cooperation in various areas.

Political and Economic

The Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mr. Mark Rutte paid an official visit to India on 5- 6 June 2015 at the invitation of the Prime Minister of India. Earlier visits to India by the Dutch HOS/G included: Former Queen Beatrix (1986 & 2007) and Former Prime Ministers R.F.M. Lubber (1987 & 1993), (1999) and Jan Peter Balkenende (2006). Her Majesty Queen Maxima visited India in June-July 2014, in her capacity as a Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General on Financial Inclusion. Visits to the Netherlands by Indian HOS/G included: Former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru (1957); Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi (1985); Former President R. Venkataraman (1988); and Former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh (2004). In the last two decades, there has been no visit by HOS from India. Former EAM Shri I.K. Gujral visited the Netherlands in 1990. Former Foreign Minister Rosenthal visited India in July 2011. Former Foreign Minister Timmermans visited India in November 2013 on the margins of ASEM FMM. Former EAM Shri Salman Khurshid led the Indian delegation for the Third Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) hosted by Netherlands in from 24-25 March 2014. Other Ministerial level visits from both sides have been frequent in the recent past (list of visits is attached at Annex. I).

A number of Bilateral Agreements and MOUs have been concluded in diverse areas covering economic and commercial cooperation, culture, science and technology and education (list is attached at Annex. II).

There is a mechanism for Foreign Office Consultations (FOCs). The last FOCs took place in May 2015 within one year of the previous FOCs held in June 2014 in New Delhi. Earlier FOCs were held in January 2011 (The Hague) and September 2007 (New Delhi).

In terms of trade and investment, India has strong economic interests in the Netherlands, which is at present the fifth largest investor of FDI into India and is the 29th largest trading partner globally and 5th largest trading partner in the EU after Germany, Belgium, France and Italy. Trade and investment cooperation is a key component of India-Netherlands relationship and has shown satisfactory growth. Two- way trade has continued to grow steadily and stood at € 6.38 billion in 2012 with positive balance of trade in favour of India. Bilateral trade dipped by 9.73% in 2013 and further dipped by 21.54% in 2014 mainly because of sharp drop in the main item of

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exports – refined petroleum products. The trade balance continues to be in favour of India. However, there is a potential for further growth in the trade relations. Netherlands is home to a number of multinational and other companies, many of which have their production sites and business operations in India. It is also a source of useful technical know-how, besides FDI, in a variety of sectors – water management, upgrading of ports and airports, dredging, agro-processing, telecommunication, energy, oil refining, chemicals, and financial services. Presently, there are 174 Indian companies based in the Netherlands, attracted by the Dutch tax system which is transparent, stable and flexible.

The main items of Indian Exports to the Netherlands were manufactured goods classified by material (19.4%) in which apparels & clothing accounted for 11.4% of our exports; miscellaneous manufactured articles (19.4%) in which iron & steel accounted for 5.5% of our total exports; Machinery & transport equipment (18.8%) in which telecommunication equipment accounted for 5.6% of total exports; chemicals & related products (16.3%) in which organic chemicals accounted for 8.2% of total exports; Food & live animals (11.9%) in which vegetables & fruit accounted for 5% of total exports; refined petroleum products (8.6%).

The main items of Indian Imports from the Netherlands were machinery & transport equipment (31.6%) of which transport equipment accounted for 9.7% of total exports, industrial machinery was 4.8% of total exports and electrical machinery was 4.7% of total exports ; chemicals & related products (28.6%) in which primary plastics accounted for 9% of total exports; organic chemicals were 7.8% of the total and chemical materials & products were 5.6% of total; crude materials (14.2%) in which metal ores and metal scrap accounted for 11.6% of total exports; miscellaneous manufactured articles (11.1%) in which professional, scientific and controlling instruments accounted for 4.8% of total exports) and; manufactured goods classified by materials (11.1%) in which iron & steel accounted for 2% of total Dutch exports to India.

Netherlands is the fifth largest investor in terms of foreign direct investment into India with FDI inflows during period April 2000 to March 2015 amounting to US $ 14.671 billion (accounting for 6 % of total inflows into India). Netherlands was the fourth largest investor during the financial years 2012-13 and 2013-14. During the financial year 2014-15, the Netherlands is the third largest investor. The current ongoing Eurozone crisis has not seriously impacted trade and investment flows between India and Netherlands. India’s exports to and imports from the Netherlands have significantly increased during past 3-4 years and the same is true for trade in services.

Culture and Education

In May 1985, a Cultural Agreement was signed between the two countries, which provides for cooperation and exchanges in education and science, art and culture. There is an MOU on Cultural Cooperation.

Indian Cultural Centre named “The Gandhi Centre” in The Hague was inaugurated on 2 October 2011. The Centre has sought to promote Indian culture. The Centre has a Director and a Yoga Teacher, and conducts a wide range of diverse cultural activities. It also partners with other local Dutch cultural organizations to promote Indian culture.

The first International Day of Yoga was celebrated on 21 June 2015 at the Atrium City Hall of The Hague. The programme started with welcome remarks by Ambassador and the Deputy Mayor of The Hague Mr. Rabin Baldewsingh. Over 600 people from various

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sections of the society comprising of local Dutch population, Surinami Hindustani community and Indian Diaspora participated at the event with great enthusiasm.

There is an ICCR Chair for Contemporary Indian Studies at the Leiden University which is in operation since September 2011.

Diaspora

People-to-people contacts are growing. The Dutch as well as the Surinami-Hindustani community in the Netherlands evince keen interest in different aspects of Indian culture and tourism. Indian Film Festivals, Food Festivals, Music and Dance Shows organized by local organizers are highly popular with the Dutch audience. The Netherlands has the second largest population of people of Indian origin in Europe (next only to the U.K.). A 235,000-strong Indian Diaspora (200,000 Surinami- Hindustani community and 35,000 NRIs/PIOs) provides an important leverage to foster closer ties with the Netherlands. It forms an important link between the two countries. The Surinami- Hindustani community is more fully integrated into the Dutch society and is also more active in local politics.

The Deputy Mayor of The Hague Municipality, Mr. Rabin Baldewsingh, one of the influential and charismatic leaders of the Surinami-Hindustani community, has been conferred with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA) for the year 2014. Earlier, PBSAs have been conferred on two prominent members of the Indian Diaspora, viz. Mr. Ram Lakhina and Mr. Wahid Saleh, in 2009 and 2011 respectively. The prestigious PBSA has been awarded for the first time to a member of the Surinami- Hindustani community.

Useful Resources:

Embassy of India, The Hague website: http://www.indianembassy.nl/ Embassy of India, The Hague Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Embassy-of-India-The-Hague/147843231949434 India Global- AIR FM Gold Program featuring India and The Netherlands Relations: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKdxTqD8lKE

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June 2015

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Annex. I

Visits from Netherlands:  November 2007: Foreign Trade Minister Mr. Frank Heemskerk.  February 2008: Transport & Water Mgmt Minister Mr. Camiel Eurlings  February 2009: Foreign Trade Minister Mr. Frank Heemskerk  October 2009: Social Affairs & Employment Minister Mr. Piet H. Donner  February, 2011: Mayor of Rotterdam, Mr. A. Aboutaleb  April 2011: Infrastructure/Environment Minister Mrs. Melanie Schultz VHaegen.  May 2011: Mayor of , Mr. E. van der Laan  July 2011: Foreign Minister Dr.  November 2011: Minister of Agriculture and Foreign Trade Mr. Henk Bleker.  December 2011: Mayor of The Hague, Mr. Jozias van Aartsen  March 2012: Mayor of Amsterdam, Mr. E. van der Laan  May 2012: Minister of Health, Welfare and Sports Ms.  September 2013: Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Ms. Lillianne Ploumen  January 2014: Minister of Health, Welfare and Sports Ms. Edith Schippers  June-July 2014: Her Majesty Queen Maxima, in her capacity as a Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General on Financial Inclusion  November 2014: Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Ms. Lilianne Ploumen

Visits from India:  March 2008: Minister of Science, Technology & Earth Sciences Shri Kapil Sibal  May 2008: Minister of State Food Processing Industries, Shri Subodh Kant.  June 2008: Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs, Shri Vayalar Ravi  September 2008: Minister of Law & Justice, Shri H.R. Bhardwaj  November 2008: President ICCR, Dr. Karan Singh.  November 2008: Finance Minister, Shri P. Chidambaram  September 2009: Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs, Shri Vayalar Ravi.  May 2010: Minister of State for Communication & IT, Shri Sachin Pilot  September 2011: Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs, Shri Vayalar Ravi.  April 2012: Minister of Shipping, Shri G.K.Vasan  May 2012: Minister for Agriculture & Food Processing Ind., Sh. Sharad Pawar  October 2012: Minister of Health & Family Welfare Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad  May 2013: Minister for Urban Dev & Parliamentary Affairs Shri Kamal Nath  June 2013: Minister of Communications & IT and Law & Justice, Shri Kapil Sibal.  June 2013: Minister of State for Youth Affairs & Sports, Shri Jitendra Singh.  July 2013: Minister of State for Shipping, Shri Milind Deora.  August-September 2014: Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Shri Akhilesh Yadav  November 2014: Hon’ble Minister for Road Transport, Highways & Shipping Shri Nitin Jairam Gadkari ***

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Annex. II

List of Agreements

. Air Services Agreement (May 1951) . Treaty for the Mutual Surrender of Fugitive Criminals (Anglo – Dutch Treaty of 1898 effected in 1971) . Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation (February 1983) . Cultural Agreement (May 1985) . Agreement on Scientific Cooperation (November 1985) . MoU for cooperation in the field of telecommunications (September 1987) . MoU on environmental cooperation (January 1988) . Avoidance of Double Taxation Prevention of Fiscal Evasion (July 1988) . MoU on cooperation in agriculture and animal husbandry (September 1990) . Agreement for the promotion and protection of investments (November 1995) . MoU for investment promotion (February 2004) . MoU on Cultural Cooperation (October 2007) . MoU in the field of Ports and Maritime Transport and Logistics (February 2008) - further extended in May 2011 for 3 years. . MoU on Cooperation in Science, Technology and Innovation (March 2008). . Social Security Agreement (October 2009). . MoU for establishment of “Long-Term Chair for study of Contemporary India” at Leiden University between Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and Leiden University (December 2010) . MOUs proposed to set-up short term Chairs for India Studies in Amsterdam University, Erasmus University Rotterdam; Maastricht & Nyenrode Universities. . Letter of Intent (LOI) for Cooperation in areas of Corporate Governance and CSRs (June 2011) . Revised Protocol amending Convention between India and Netherlands on Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion (May 2012). . MoU on Food Safety between Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) under Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India and Consumer Product Safety Authority under Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation, Kingdom of the Netherlands (November 2012). . MoU in the field of Spatial Planning, Water Management and Mobility Management (May 2013). . MoU on Cooperation in the field of Healthcare and Public Health (January 2014). . MoU on technical cooperation in the field of the development of sports infrastructure (January 2014). . MoU on cooperation in Renewal Energy (February 2014) . MoU on Joint Trade & Investment Committee (November 2014)

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