Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders to visit India; trade, education to be discussed

New Delhi: Foreign Minister of the Netherlands Bert Koenders will arrive here on Tuesday to hold talks with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on ways to ramp up bilateral cooperation in a range of areas, including trade and investment, water and education.

Sushma Swaraj. PTI

Swaraj and Koenders will deliberate on the entire gamut of bilateral issues on Tuesday during which they are likely to identify areas for expanding cooperation.

"Looking forward to meet Mr Bert Koenders, Foreign Minister of Netherlands - the land of Tulips. @DutchMFA," Swaraj tweeted.

On his part, the Dutch foreign minister said he was happy to be visiting India and that the Netherlands would like to boost cooperation with the country in several areas, including technology and water.

Relations between India and the Netherlands have largely been shaped by engagement in trade and investment. Dutch ships had come calling to Indian ports around 400 years ago.

The Netherlands is today one of India's largest trading partner in the European Union.

During his four-day India visit, Koenders' first destination will be Bengaluru where he will meet Karnataka's Minister for Large and Medium Scale Industries R V Deshpande.

He will also attend an event of the Confederation of Indian Industry.