By Sahil Pandey 

Hague [Netherlands], October 27 (ANI): India's Ambassador to the Netherlands, Kumar Tuhin, has said the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will significantly benefit the Netherlands by expanding trade and investment flows, highlighting the country's position as a key European economic and logistics hub.

Speaking to ANI, Tuhin said the visit of Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal to the Netherlands was successful in advancing economic cooperation following the elevation of India-Netherlands ties to a strategic partnership during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit a few months ago.

"The visit of Union Commerce and Industry Minister to the Netherlands was very successful, especially because it came in the backdrop of the visit of Prime Minister Modi a few months ago and the upgrading of our relations to a strategic partnership," Tuhin said.

He said the visit aimed to strengthen economic, commercial and business relations, while conveying to Dutch leadership and industry representatives India's economic growth trajectory and the structural complementarities between the two countries.

"What this visit did was to convey to the Dutch leadership and industry captains was how we are preparing to strengthen the economic and trade aspect of our relationship and to prepare those elements of the strategic partnership," the ambassador said.

Emphasising the importance of high-level engagement, Tuhin said presenting India's economic outlook and growth potential to Dutch stakeholders would help underline the opportunities arising from the complementary strengths of the two economies.

On the India-EU FTA, the ambassador said the Netherlands was well-positioned to benefit as economic engagement between India and the European Union expands.

'Even now, India and Netherlands has very strong trade and investment ties. Netherlands is India's second largest trading partner in the EU. Also, this is the fourth largest investment destination for the country,' he said.

Tuhin pointed to the Netherlands' strategic advantages, including Rotterdam's role as a major European port and Eindhoven's prominence as a technology and innovation hub, alongside Amsterdam and other economic centres.

'So, as India-EU-FTA comes into play and the overall engagement with the EU expands and overall volume of trade investment expands, Netherlands will be a very beneficiary,' he said, adding that the potential benefits of the agreement were also highlighted during Goyal's interactions with Dutch leadership.

The ambassador's remarks come amid India's efforts to deepen economic engagement with European partners and leverage the proposed India-EU trade agreement to expand market access, investment and technological cooperation.

India and the Netherlands have been seeking to build on their strategic partnership through closer business engagement and stronger economic ties, with the India-EU FTA expected to provide further momentum to bilateral trade and investment. (ANI)