India, Netherlands discuss ways to address trade barriers, logistics issues

Time of India

29-04-2025

India and the Netherlands have discussed ways to advance strategic economic cooperation, foster policy alignment and address trade barriers to facilitate smoother market access for Indian and Dutch businesses. The issues were taken up during commerce secretary Sunil Barthwal's visit to Netherlands from April
24–26 April to advance bilateral trade and economic cooperation between the two sides.
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The visit also laid the groundwork for setting up of a Green and Digital Corridor between the Port of Rotterdam and Indian ports like the Deendayal Port Authority Kandla, and export of Green Hydrogen and carriers like Ammonia and Methanol from India to Europe, with the Port of Rotterdam acting as a gateway to Europe.
Barthwal commenced his visit with a productive discussion with Michiel Sweers, Director General for Foreign Economic Relations, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in The Hague, according to the commerce and industry ministry.
'The discussions focused on strengthening bilateral trade and economic ties, inter alia, through setting up of the Joint Trade and Investment Committee (JTIC) mechanism,' the ministry said in a statement Tuesday.
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The meeting covered diverse issues of bilateral trade and economic relationship, advancing strategic economic cooperation, fostering policy alignment, and addressing trade barriers to facilitate smoother market access for Indian and Dutch businesses.
'The dialogue reaffirmed the shared commitment to creating a conducive environment for trade and investment, leveraging the complementary strengths of both economies,' it said, adding that
Barthwal held in-depth discussions on enhancing cooperation between the Indian ports and Rotterdam.
The talks explored opportunities for knowledge sharing, technology transfer, and sustainable port management practices. A tour of the port facilities, including the fully automated APM Terminals at Maasvlakte II, provided insights into Rotterdam's state-of-the-art infrastructure and operational efficiencies.
As per the statement, Barthwal highlighted the potential for collaboration in modernizing Indian ports, aligning with India's Maritime Vision 2030, which aims to enhance port capacity and logistics efficiency.
'Both sides expressed interest in deepening ties through joint initiatives in port digitalization, green shipping, and logistics optimization, which are critical to boosting bilateral trade flows,' it said.
Barthwal also visited Croatia where he held talks on advancing India-Croatia trade and investment relations, promoting sectoral collaboration, and reinforcing India's engagement with the Central European region with Zdenko Lucić, State Secretary for Foreign Trade and Development, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, and Ivo Milatić, State Secretary, Ministry of Economy.
The meetings come ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Europe visit to Croatia, Netherlands and Norway in May.
With Croatia, the talks centered around taking forward the
EU-India Free Trade Agreement
(FTA) and enhancing bilateral trade cooperation.
The 11th round of negotiations for the proposed FTA between India and EU begin a May 12 in New Delhi.
As per the ministry, Barthwal mentioned the areas of collaboration between the two countries like Railways, Global Capability Centers, Electric Vehicles and IT, among others.
The Croatian side apprised about their interest of investment in Defence sector (about flagship products of India), solar cells production, food processing technology, automobiles, knowledge sharing amongst other sectors, it said.