Chandigarh gets 'Netherlands Desk'

(Credit: IANS) To strengthen its ties in the region, the Netherlands embassy Tuesday launched the Netherlands Desk here in conjunction with The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), Punjab and Chandigarh chapter.

"We are pleased on expanding the support and reach, through establishing a local presence in the promising Indian city like Chandigarh," said Bob Hiensch, Netherlands ambassador to India, after launching this desk here Tuesday.

Hiensch said through its outreach programmes and activities, the desk will facilitate a deeper cooperation between Netherlands and the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana.

This cooperation will focus on exploring economic and commercial opportunities in the region, such as exports and imports, investments and science and technology cooperation at both the corporate and university levels, he pointed out.

As per the officials of the desk, the Netherlands embassy's economic cluster, comprising the economic section, science and technology section, agriculture section and the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA), plan to conduct bi-monthly visits to Chandigarh.

They propose to interact with the local business community in mutually beneficial fields.