New Delhi: The visit of Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal to the Netherlands has laid the groundwork for setting up of a green and digital corridor between the Port of Rotterdam and Indian ports like the Deendayal Port Authority, Kandla, and export of Green Hydrogen and carriers like Ammonia and Methanol from India to Europe, with the Port of Rotterdam acting as a gateway to Europe, a statement said on Tuesday.
The Commerce Ministry said that huge opportunities are there for enhancing cooperation between Indian ports and the Netherlands' Port of Rotterdam in areas such as digitalisation, green shipping, and logistics optimisation, to boost bilateral trade. During the visit, Barthwal held discussions in this regard with the CEO of the Port of Rotterdam authority Boudewijn Siemon. The Rotterdam port is Europe's largest and one of the world's most advanced ports.
Both sides discussed opportunities in the areas including knowledge sharing, technology transfer, and sustainable port management practices. In the meeting, Barthwal highlighted the potential for collaboration in modernising Indian ports, aligning with India's Maritime Vision 2030, which aims to enhance port capacity and logistics efficiency.
Both sides expressed interest in deepening ties through joint initiatives in port digitalisation, green shipping, and logistics optimisation, which are critical to boosting bilateral trade flows, the commerce ministry said.
Barthwal also met ASML, a global leader in photolithography systems for the semiconductor industry, CEO Christophe Fouquet, and discussed deepening India-Netherlands cooperation in the sector. "The discussions focused on leveraging ASML's expertise to support India's ambitions to become a global semiconductor manufacturing hub," it added.
The Secretary also visited Croatia last week and held deliberations with Zdenko LuciÄ, State Secretary for Foreign Trade and Development, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, and Ivo MilatiÄ, State Secretary, Ministry of Economy. The two sides discussed the progress of talks for the proposed free trade agreement between India and the European Union.