New Delhi, April 27: Seeking to diversify its global trading alliances, India is ramping up economic interactions with the Netherlands and Croatia.
Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal held talks with Zdenko Lucic, State Secretary for Foreign Trade and Development in Croatia's Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, on April 22 in Zagreb to enhance bilateral trade and find areas of investment, the Indian Embassy in Croatia posted on social media platform X.
"Team India and Croatia had fruitful talks to increase economic cooperation," the Embassy posted.
On his European outreach, Barthwal also traveled to The Hague where he met Director-General Foreign Economic Relations in the Netherlands, Michiel Sweers, to discuss increasing bilateral trade under Joint Trade & Investment Committee (JTIC) mode and strategic economic cooperation, as per India's Embassy in the Netherlands.
In the backdrop of prevailing trade uncertainties worldwide, India is earnestly pursuing accessing new and evolving markets, and Croatia is regarded as a significant potential partner, especially in light of President Zoran Milanović's re-election. Commerce Secretary Barthwal also engaged with prominent industry players during his tour.
The Netherlands is still an important trade partner for India, standing as its 11th largest merchandise trading partner in the world and the biggest partner in the European Union during FY 2023–24. Merchandise trade between India and the Netherlands was USD 27.33 billion (Rs 2.26 lakh crores), making up 2.45% of India's overall trade.
India has a strong trade surplus with the Netherlands, with a value of USD 17.4 billion (Rs 1.44 lakh crores). During the period April to November 2024, the Netherlands became India's 9th largest trading partner in merchandise, with an export value of USD 22.37 billion (Rs 1.85 lakh crores), becoming India's largest destination for exports from Europe and the third globally after the USA and UAE.
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