India-Netherlands Bilateral Relations
Context:
• The Indian community is the most important pillar of growing India-Netherlands bilateral relations and serves as a bridge between not just India and the Netherlands, but between India and Europe, said the President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind.
• He was addressing the members of Indian community and Friends of India at a reception hosted by the Ambassador of India to the Netherlands.
Background:
• Indo-Dutch relations can be traced back to more than 400 years when the first Dutch EIC (East India Company) got established in India
• The Netherlands currently is home to the largest Indian community on the European mainland.
• The growing Indian student and professional community in the Netherlands is making the cultural knot stronger and the technological partnership deeper.
• The Netherlands was the third largest investor in India, after Mauritius and Singapore for the financial year 2018-19 with FDI inflows of USD 3.87 billion across a variety of sectors.
• The Netherlands is India’s 5th largest trading partner in the European Union. And is also one of the leading investor nations in India.
India’s initiatives to the diaspora:
• India is deeply committed to strengthen its bond with the diaspora and to attend to their needs.
• In the past few years, engagement with and outreach to the Indian diaspora has grown manifold.
• India has taken several initiatives under the maxim of 4Cs – Care, Connect, Celebrate and Contribute.
• The Overseas Citizen of India cards have been issued to give status and privileges in many areas.
• The travel to India has been facilitated through issuance of long-term visa and E-visa.
• To increase the participation of the diaspora youth and familiarize them with Indian youth and their Indian roots, we started the Know India Programme and Scholarship Programme for Diaspora Children for the children of Person of Indian Origin to join Indian universities for higher education.
Source: THE HINDU
