A successful trade mission to the other side of the world.

From 31 October to 9 November 2016 the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs organised in cooperation with the Task Force Health Care (TFHC) a combined trade mission to Australia and New Zealand for Dutch starters, knowledge institutes, and entrepreneurs.

Parallel to the state visit of the Dutch Royal Couple this unique chance offered an excellent opportunity to get in contact with potential business partners, hospitals and other relevant healthcare parties. Led by Minister Ploumen (Foreign Trade & Development) and Minister Henk Kamp (Economic Affairs), a group of nine Dutch companies and organisations all dedicated to themes related to healthcare travelled to Australia to join this Economic Mission. Subsequently, seven healthcare organisations continued their visit towards New Zealand.In total, the trade mission to Australia has already generated more than €125 million worth of business. No fewer than eleven contracts and cooperative agreements have been signed by Dutch companies and their Australian partners in the sectors of water, healthcare, horticulture, IT and infrastructure.The two ministers Kamp and Ploumen agreed, “These are excellent results. Dutch companies and knowledge institutions can deliver products and expertise that Australia will benefit from enormously. And we are counting on even greater success in the future, in view of all the contacts Dutch and Australian companies have made or taken steps towards over the past few weeks. Exporting know-how and products generates income and jobs for Dutch business.”

The trade mission has yielded agreements on, for example, the delivery of a new biomedical research laboratory equipped with ‘clean rooms’ – working environments with optimum temperature and hygienic conditions. In the presence of the Dutch Royal Couple, TFHC Partner Motekforce Link signed a memorandum of understanding with the Melbourne School of Engineering for research cooperation on their new CAREN system. Their Computer Assisted Rehabilitation ENvironment (CAREN) is a versatile, multi-sensory system for clinical analysis, rehabilitation, evaluation and registration of the human balance system. Motekforce Link products are beneficial for patients with the balance and movement disorders.