International studies frequently rank the Netherlands as having one of the finest business climates. The Netherlands rated fourth in the 2019 World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Index and Forbes put it fourth in their 2019 Best Countries for Business list. Neither list was updated in 2020.
The Netherlands has the seventeenth-largest economy in the world and the fifth-largest in the Eurozone, with a GDP of $912 billion in 2020.
The Netherlands – Germany
At both the official and civil society levels, Germany and the Netherlands have extensive, intimate, and friendly contacts. On a national and local level, there are frequent contacts between their representatives of government and parliament. Regular visits and contacts take place, including at the highest levels. On the 76th anniversary of the Netherlands’ liberation from German occupation, Federal Chancellor Merkel was the first German head of government to give a speech (this time digitally) honoring the event. On the 2nd of October 2019, intergovernmental consultations were held in Berlin for the third time. The Netherlands is a close bilateral, EU, and multilateral partner of Germany.
The cultural ties between Germany and the Netherlands are quite strong. Organizations and people involved in vocational training, education, research, and culture work closely together and exchange ideas. In the Netherlands, there are approximately 23,000 German students. They make up 25% of all international students and are the largest group of international students, surpassing those from Italy and China.
Belgium – Netherlands
Interstate relations between Belgium and the Netherlands are referred to as Belgian–Dutch relations. It is regarded as one of the most intimate international relationships in the world, with common history, culture, institutions, and language, enormous people-to-people ties, allied security interests, sporting competitions, and active economic and investment collaboration. Both countries are members of the European Union and NATO, and they comprise the Low Countries and the Benelux economic union with Luxembourg.
Indonesia – Netherlands
In 1949, Indonesia and the Netherlands established diplomatic ties. Both countries have a special relationship that dates back centuries to their common history of colonial contact. The Netherlands founded the Dutch East Indies Company (VOC) trading post in what is now Indonesia during the spice trade, subsequently colonizing it as the Dutch East Indies until the mid-twentieth century. The former Dutch colony of Indonesia was the largest in the world. The Dutch government vowed to improve its connection with Indonesia in the early twenty-first century, stating that economic, political, and interpersonal ties should be developed.
One of Indonesia’s most important European trade partners in the Netherlands. Between January and September 2012, trade between the two countries totaled US$3.314 billion, with initiatives underway to increase that figure. The primary entrance sites for Indonesian products into the European Union have been the Port of Rotterdam and Schiphol Airport. [requires citation] Similarly, Dutch businesses have viewed Indonesia as a doorway to the wider ASEAN market, which has a population of over 500 million people.
Mexico – Netherlands
Both countries have signed several bilateral agreements, including the Treaty of Friendship, Navigation, and Commerce (1827), the Extradition Treaty (1907), the Trade Agreement (1950), the Treaty for Cultural Relations (1964), the Air Transportation Agreement (1971), the Agreement to Avoid Double Taxation And Prevent Tax Evasion in Income Taxes (1993), the Agreement for the Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Investments (1998), and the Agreement between Mexico and the Netherlands concerning the Neth (2013).
Machines and apparatus, crude oil, memory units, control units or adapters, elevator motors, avocados, and fruit juices are among Mexico’s significant exports to the Netherlands. Gasoline, ether, foundry manufactures, and dairy products are among the Netherlands’ primary exports to Mexico. Mexico’s fifth-largest foreign investor in the Netherlands. The Netherlands invested $20 billion in Mexico between 1999 and 2018. C&A, Heineken, Philips, and Rabobank are just a few of the Dutch corporations that have operations in Mexico (among others). Cemex, a Mexican multinational corporation, has a presence in the Netherlands.
Netherlands – Singapore
The bilateral relations between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Republic of Singapore are referred to as the Netherlands–Singapore relations. The Netherlands recognized Singapore as a sovereign state and established diplomatic relations with it after it declared independence in August 1965, making it one of the first European countries to do so. Singapore is represented in the Netherlands through its embassy in Brussels, Belgium, whereas the Netherlands is represented by its embassy in Brussels, Belgium.
In 2015, the Netherlands was Singapore’s most important European Union trading partner. More than 1,000 Dutch companies have opened offices in Singapore, according to reports from 2015, and almost 100 Singaporean enterprises run their European operations through offices in the Netherlands. With investments totaling more than 50 billion Singapore dollars in 2009, the Netherlands was the second-largest investor in Singapore. Singapore invested a total of 3.1 billion Singapore dollars in the Netherlands.
