Berlin, Oct 21 Accompanied by about 100 business leaders, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will visit two European countries – Germany and the Netherlands – from October 22-27 and discuss ways to boost trade and investments between India and these nations, an official statement said on Tuesday.
In Berlin (October 22-24), the minister will engage with international policymakers and global business leaders to highlight India’s macroeconomic stability, manufacturing capabilities and its pivotal role in building resilient global supply chains.
He will also hold bilateral meetings with the German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) and the Economic and Financial Policy Advisor and G7/G20 Sherpa at the Federal Chancellery of Germany.
“The meetings will focus on strengthening bilateral trade and investment corridors, accelerating technological and industrial cooperation in advanced engineering, green mobility and clean technology, and exploring market access and investment avenues arising from the ongoing India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations,” the commerce ministry said.
In the Netherlands (October 24-27), Goyal will lead comprehensive government-to-government (G2G) engagements in The Hague, where he will hold bilateral ministerial meetings with the Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate and the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation to explore expanded trade channels and green transition initiatives.
Goyal will be accompanied by around 100 business leaders and entrepreneurs in Germany and the Netherlands.
The Indian business delegation accompanying the minister will have a parallel programme in Berlin, which includes sectoral roundtables with German CEOs and Indian business delegates.
The roundtables will cover automotive, advanced manufacturing, infrastructure and energy; information technology, artificial intelligence and services; agri-food, consumer goods and textiles; and healthcare, pharmaceuticals and wellness.
The delegation will also participate in an India-Germany Investment Roundtable with Germany Trade and Invest (GTAI) on investing and establishing operations in Germany.
The visit is important as these two countries are key members of the 27-nation European Union (EU). India and the EU have finalised a free trade agreement on January 27, which is expected to be signed in December and may be implemented in the first quarter of next year.
The bilateral trade between India and Germany rose by about 5 per cent to USD 31 billion (exports USD 11.52 billion and imports USD 19.5 billion) in 2025-26. The trade gap is in the favour of Germany. Germany was the 8th largest trading partner for India and it is India’s largest trading partner in the EU.
Germany accounts for roughly one-fourth of India’s trade with the European Union, reinforcing its position as India’s leading EU trading partner.
Indian services exports to Germany were USD 10.36 billion and Indian services imports from Germany were USD 6.40 billion in 2025.
Major Indian exports to Germany include machinery, clothing, chemical products, pharmaceutical, coal and petroleum items, steel and other metals, data processing equipment, electrical and optical products, leather and leather goods, electrical equipment, and textiles.
The major imports include machinery, vehicles and parts, chemicals, data processing equipment, electrical and optical items, electrical equipment, metals and metal goods; rubber and plastic products, and pharmaceuticals.
Germany is the 10th largest investor in India. The country has received USD 495 million FDI in the last fiscal year.
There are more than 2,000 German companies active in India. German investments in India have been mainly in transportation, electrical equipment, metallurgical industries, services sector (particularly insurance), chemicals, construction activity, trading and automobiles.
On the other hand, the two-way trade between India and the Netherlands dipped 16.2 per cent to USD 23.26 billion (exports USD 17.5 billion and imports USD 5.76 billion) in 2025-26. The trade gap is in the favour of India.
The Netherlands is India’s 11th largest trading partner in the world. It is also India’s 3rd largest export destination globally and the largest in Europe.
The main items of Indian exports to the Netherlands include petroleum products, engineering goods, chemicals, telecom instruments, electronic goods, drugs and pharmaceuticals, readymade garments, leather and leather items, fruits and vegetables, plastic, marine products, spices, rice, handicrafts, iron ore, gems and jewellery, ceramic products and glassware, carpet, jute, tea, tobacco, oilseeds and coffee.
The Netherlands is the 5th largest investor in India. The country has received 3.37 billion in FDI in the last fiscal year.
There are over 300 Dutch companies present in India, including major players like Philips, Signify, Akzo Nobel, DSM, KLM, Rabobank, Heineken, TomTom, Paques, Boskalis, Van Oord, Damen Shipyards, Vopak, Aegon.
Similarly, there are over 300 Indian companies present in the Netherlands, including all major IT companies such as TCS, HCL, Wipro, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, as well as Tata Steel and others.
(PTI News)
