Netherlands conference: promising preamble for the Trade Mission in November

Monaco Economic Board invited Florian Carquillat Business Director at the French Chamber of Commerce & Industry in the Netherlands to present his country’s business appeal, at the Novotel Monte-Carlo on Thursday 6 April, and outline all the good reasons to participate in the Trade Mission being organised by MEB from 21-24 November to Amsterdam and The Hague. 

H. E. Mr Frédéric Labarère, Monaco Ambassador to the Netherlands set the tone: “MEB’s Trade Mission in November is a unique chance to prospect, seize business opportunities and investments, build mutually profitable partnerships and reap the shared benefits,” he said. “You are right to be interested in the Netherlands, it’s a country full of opportunities,” added Arie Adrianus van 't Hof, Dutch Honorary Consul in Monaco who is used to working with MEB. 

There is no shortage of good reasons, as Florian Carquillat explained describing a nation “which likes to be at the top of the rankings”, citing Rotterdam, number one port in Europe, ranked third in the world on the national logistics performance index, or the fact it is the world’s top exporter of flowers, second for agri-food products, the fifth most innovative according to the World Intellectual Property Organisation and has one of the highest GDP per capita in the world, 80% of which is generated by exports. Coming out of the pandemic, the Dutch economy has shown remarkable resilience, posting growth of 4.8% in 2022 and full employment. 

Florian Carquillat also mentioned the “Topscoren”, considered by the government as strategic sectors with potential for growth. They include finance and its digital avatar fintech which is thriving; energy, the country needs innovative solutions to boost decarbonisation of its energy sources; and life sciences particularly medtech which counts 3,000+ R&D centres. 

Ahead of MEB’s trip to the Netherlands, Florian Carquillat shared advice on Dutch business culture: get to the point in meetings, don’t be late, plan actions ahead as far as possible and know how to communicate with horizontally organised structures.

 

MEB member companies are invited to get to know a successful country on a trip to The Hague and Amsterdam 21-24 November 2023. The programme includes visiting companies to better understand the corporate culture, networking events with bespoke connections and targeted one-on-one interviews arranged ahead by MEB and the French CCI in the Netherlands: a pragmatic and appealing programme, like the country which is a destination of choice for expanding a business in Europe.