In 15th Century Dutch came to India for business. Now Time has changed. Indian now visiting Dutch for business.
At that time India was good in silk, water management and waste management . Now Indian prime Minister asking Dutch people to invest in Make in India and Clean India project.
Relationship beetween India and Dutch people started in Mughal Era.
The India–Netherlands relations date back to the early 15th century as far as 1605 when the Dutch entered the Mughal Empire for trading purposes. Dutch presence on the Indian subcontinent lasted from 1605 to 1825. Merchants of the Dutch East India Company first established themselves in Dutch Coromandel, notably Pulicat, as they were looking for textiles to exchange with the spices they traded in the East Indies.
Dutch Suratte and Dutch Bengal succeeded in 1616 and 1627 respectively.After the Dutch conquered Ceylon from the Portuguese in 1656, they took the Portuguese forts on the Malabar coast five years later as well, to secure Ceylon from Portuguese invasion.
Apart from textiles, the items traded in Dutch India include precious stones, indigo, and silk across India, saltpeter and opium in Dutch Bengal, and pepper in Dutch Malabar. Indian slaves were imported on the Spice Islands and in the Cape Colony.
Netherlands remains among the top 10 partners of India in terms of trade volume with positive balance of trade in favour of India.It is also one of the largest investors in terms of Foreign Direct Investment(FDI) into India with Indian investments into Netherlands during the period 1996-2010 amounted to $11.46 billion. FDI inflows from Netherlands into India during the period 2000 to 2011 stood at US $5.62 billion (6th largest overall).FDI during financial year 2011-12 amounted to $1.409 billion.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that the Netherlands is a natural partner in India’s economic development and thanked the key European nation for backing India’s Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) membership.
“The world is inter-dependant and inter-connected. We would discuss both bilateral issues and those concerning the world,” Prime Minister Modi said ahead of talks with his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte.
“Ties between India and the Netherlands are very old. Our bilateral relations are very strong,” he said.
He said that relations between India and the Netherlands are century old and the two countries will keep on moving towards stronger ties.
Thanking the key European nation for backing India’s MTCR membership, he said, “Because of your support India got the membership of the MTCR.”
India joined the MTCR as a full member last year. MTCR membership enables India to buy high-end missile technology and also enhances its joint ventures with Russia.
The aim of the MTCR is to restrict the proliferation of missiles, complete rocket systems, unmanned air vehicles and related technology for those systems capable of carrying a 500 kilogramme payload for at least 300 kilometres, as well as systems intended for the delivery of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
Modi said the Netherlands is the 5th largest investment partner globally and in the last three years it has emerged as the 3rd largest source of FDI for the country.
In the joint address, Dutch Prime Minister Rutte said India’s emergence as a global power is a “welcome development from both political and economic point of views.”
“Political because of the values we share with respect of rule of laws and security,” he said.
He commended India for its commitment to renewal energy and to the Paris climate agreement.
He praised Modi for announcing major sustainable initiatives like ‘Clean India’ and ‘Make in India’.
“The Netherlands is a key partner to help India achieve its goals,” he said.
“India is now a global economic power. It is world’s second biggest economy and Indian market has a lot of potential. We have a plenty to offer to India too,” he said.
He said Europe is India’s biggest trading partner and 20 per cent of India’s export to Europe enters through the Netherlands.
Economically Dutch people are investing more then any European country.
n June 2015, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte made an official visit to New Delhi where he held talks with Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
Presently there are 174 Indian companies based in Netherlands attracted by Dutch taxation system which is transparent, stable, flexible and has no withholding tax on ongoing interests and royalty payments, advance tax assessment certainly and competitive corporate tax rate of 20-25% and no capital tax on contribution of capital.
There have been major acquisitions and mergers by Indian companies including that of Tata Corus (now Tata Steel),Apollo-Vredestein,acquisition of Theodoor Gilissen by Hinduja Group and many Indian companies and exploring the possibilities for further tie-ups.
The proposal for opening a branch of State Bank of India in Amsterdam is also under way. Many Dutch multinationals like Shell,Unilever,KLM and major banks like -ING and Rabobank have growing and significant presence in India.Dutch SMEs with niche technologies and world class expertise are also actively looking at the Indian market.Similarly,several Indian major IT companies have established their presence in Netherlands.
Time will reveal the importance of visit done by PM Modi to three countries.
This year two nation celebrating 70 years of relationship.