Indian Expat Society
The Indian Expat Society (IES), a new organisation to represent to the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area’s fast growing community of Indian expats and serve as a new home away from home, was inaugurated on 10 December, 2009.
India - Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, strong trade ties
Some 150 expats and representatives of Indian companies were in attendance at The Cristofori, a stylish 17th century canal building, in the heart of Amsterdam. After a word of welcome by the Executive President of the IES, Lavesh Lakhina, the Mayor of Amsterdam Job Cohen, spoke to the audience about the long-standing business relations between the Amsterdam Area and India, starting 300 years ago.
In that light, Cohen said: "We believe it is important to offer Indian companies the space and opportunity to develop their economic activities and to make and keep the Indian expats happy."
Top Indian IT companies present
Currently, the Indian community is the fastest growing foreign business community in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area and of great importance to the local economy. Almost half of the 120 Indian companies in the Netherlands are located in the Amsterdam Area. All top four Indian IT companies, Infosys, Tata, Cognizant and Wipro, have offices here.
While the Dutch State Secretary for Justice, Nebahat Albayrak, added in her speech, "30 percent of all knowledge workers in the Netherlands are from India, they are of great importance to our economy."
According to Pankaj Sharma, Counsellor of the Embassy of India, trade between the Netherlands and India has more than doubled in the last five years. He believes that the presence of the IESwill make the Amsterdam Area even more attractive for Indian business and employees. Sharma: "It offers a home away from home."
Facilitating Indian expats
Finding and maintaining good employees is of paramount importance to companies, said Mayor Jan van Zanen of Amstelveen, part of the Amsterdam Area. Van Zanen: "We like to be of assistance to Indian employees and their families where possible."
He mentioned the good international schools in the Amsterdam Area, easy registration facilities for expats, and events like the Indian Cricket Tournament and the Diwali Festival, organised yearly, guaranteeing the Indian expats a good quality of life during their stay in the Amsterdam Area.
Amsterdam inbusiness, the official foreign investment agency of the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area was co-organiser of the event and is also part of the board of the IES, representing more than 5000 Indian expats in the Netherlands. The event was also sponsored by the Expatcenter Amsterdam.
For more information visit IES-Amsterdam
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