Dutch Foreign Trade Minister arriving on Sunday

New Delhi, Aug 29: More than a week after the recent fiasco over detention of 12 Indian nationals by the Dutch police, The Netherlands' Minister for Foreign Trade, Mrs C E G (Karien) van Gennip, will arrive here on Sunday on a five-day official visit to further strengthen bilateral economic relations, promote Indo-Dutch trade and investment and bilateral cooperation in the field of science and technology.

The visit comes a week after the recent unpleasantness created by the detention of 12 Indian nationals by the Dutch police on board a Mumbai-bound US airliner following a mid-air terror drama.

India had officially protested and summoned the Dutch Ambassador in New Delhi and lodged a protest against the detentions.

During her visit from September three-eight, the Dutch Minister will also visit Hyderabad and Chennai. She will be accompanied by a business delegation, headed by Mr Rutger Koopmans, Chairman of the Netherlands-Indian Chamber of Commerce and Trade (NICCT) and comprising companies from various sectors, mostly IT and life sciences.

During her stay in Delhi on September four and five, the Dutch Minister will have discussions with Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath and Minister for Non-Conventional Energy Sources, Vilas Muttemwar, the Netherlands embassy here said today.

On September four, she will open the match-making event hosted by the CII, while on the same day she will address a FICCI round-table on 'India-Netherlands: connecting innovative gateways'.

The Minister will also be accompanied by representatives of the Rijksmuseum, the Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT).

The Netherlands minister will visit Hyderabad on September six and Chennai on September seven and eight. In Hyderabad, she will call on Chief Minister Y S R Reddy and in Chennai she will pay a courtesy call on Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Karunanidhi. Theme of the mission is globalisation, innovation and co-operation in research and development. In this regard special attention will be given to IT, life sciences, with a focus on bio-technology and non-conventional energy.

This will be reflected in a number of company visits and other activities such as a visit to the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad and her participation in CONNECT, 2006, in Chennai.

The highlight of the visit to Chennai will be the World premier of the showcasing (outside the Netherlands) of a solar boat, as an example of Dutch innovative design and technology.

A special feature of her visit to India will be the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the two Netherlands Business Support Offices in Chennai and Ahmedabad.

''There is substantial room for growth in India-Netherlands economic relations,'' said Ms Karien van Gennip, in an interview to Indian journalists at Amsterdam recently.

With 8.5 per cent growth last year, India is a good market for trade, investment and scientific cooperation. Dutch companies are increasingly looking at India for expanding their business. India is one of the three priority countries for the Dutch Trade Board, a public-private partnership set up by the government a year ago, that aims at promoting and increasing international business.

Exports from The Netherlands to India (911 million in 2005) are increasing each year. Dutch foreign investment in India ranks third while the Netherlands emerged as the largest recipient of overseas Indian investment in the first nine months of FY06 (244 million Dollars).

UNI