India seeks new trade opportunities with Croatia, Netherlands to diversify trade partnerships

In an effort to diversify its trade partnerships and explore new markets, India has actively engaged with Croatia and the Netherlands. Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal met Zdenko Lucic, State Secretary for Foreign Trade and Development at the Ministry of Foreign And European Affairs in Zagreb, on April 22, 2025, strengthening bilateral trade ties and exploring investment opportunities, a post on social media platform X by the Indian embassy in Croatia, said.

"Team India and Croatia engaged in fruitful discussions during the meeting," the post by India In Croatia read.

Commerce Secretary Barthwal also held a meeting with the Netherlands's DG Foreign Economic Relations Michiel Sweers and discussed the ways to forge a strong bilateral trade relationship and economic ties.

"Commerce Secretary Mr. Sunil Barthwal & Ambassador @ktuhinv met DG Foreign Economic Relations Mr Michiel Sweers in The Hague to discuss strengthening - bilateral trade & economic ties. Discussions focused on enhancing collaboration through the Joint Trade & Investment Committee (JTIC) and advancing strategic economic cooperation," India in the Netherlands said in the X post.

Amid the global trade tensions and uncertainties, India is making an effort to diversify its trade destinations across the globe. Indian officials and leaders want to capitalise on emerging markets such as Croatia amid shifting global economic dynamics. Croatia is also important for India because recently, the country re-elected President Zoran Milanovic. During his visit, Commerce Secretary Barthwal also held a meeting with key Industry leaders.

The Netherlands is India's 11th largest merchandise trading partner in the world and the largest in the European Union during FY 2023-24.

The total merchandise trade with the Netherlands stood at USD 27.333 billion (Rs 226,360 crores) during FY 2023-2024, accounting for 2.45 per cent of India's total merchandise trade.

India has a trade surplus of USD 17.40 billion (Rs 144,160 crores) with the Netherlands. For FY 2024-25 (April-Nov), the Netherlands is India's 9th largest merchandise trading partner, with a total trade of USD 19.62 billion (INR 164,407 crores) and a trade surplus of USD 12.971 billion (Rs 108,545 crores).

The Netherlands is India's largest merchandise export destination in Europe and the third largest in the world (after the USA & UAE). In the FY 2023-2024, India exported USD 22.367 billion (Rs 185,260 crores) worth of goods to the Netherlands.