Modi invites Dutch investors to India

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SME Times News Bureau | 28 Jun, 2017
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday invited Dutch businesses, particularly its pension funds, to invest in India "where doing business is being rapidly eased" through a series of economic reforms.

Modi, who is on an official visit to the Netherlands, met the country's leading chief executives, along with his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte, here in the nation's capital.

"Pension funds are especially welcome to India," India's External Affairs Ministry spokesman Gopal Baglay in a tweet quoted Modi as telling the CEOs.

"India is a land of opportunities with a population of 1.25 billion, 800 million of whom are below 35 years and the economy is growing annually at over 7 per cent," Modi said.

According to Baglay, the Indian Prime Minister said the government reforms were seeking to enhance ease of doing business and bring India at par with global standards.

"Seven thousand reforms, real estate, defence, etc FDI," Baglay tweeted referring to Modi's address to the CEOs.

There are 200 Dutch companies in India.

Addressing the media, Ruchira Ghanashyam, Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs, said that the Netherlands was an important economic partner of India.

She said that during the interaction with Modi, the CEOs' interest focused on Ganga rejuvenation, food processing, sports and infrastructure, among other areas.

At a joint media breifing earlier, the Dutch Prime Minister said that while the Indian market had all the potential for Dutch businesses, the Netherlands too had a lot to offer to India.

"European Union (EU) is India's biggest trading partner, and 20 per cent of India's exports to Europe enter through the Netherlands," Rutte said, adding that the Netherlands' image as India's gateway to EU was only expected to grow in the coming years.