Amsterdam Mayor Eberhard van der Laan to Lead Trade Delegation to U.S. April 1-April 16

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Mar 31, 2014) - Amsterdam Mayor Eberhard van der Laan and a delegation of the Netherlands economic development and trade officials will visit New York, San Francisco, Boston, and Baltimore April 1-April 16. The goals are to strengthen economic ties and promote Amsterdam as a European business hub. During the visit, the delegation is expected to meet with business leaders and elected officials to cultivate greater opportunities for U.S. companies to conduct business in Amsterdam. Coinciding with the delegation's trip, the historic Clipper Stad Amsterdam will dock in the ports of Baltimore, New York and Boston. Guests will be invited on the state-of-the-art ship that will host a range of programs and events. The Clipper is currently traveling up the East Coast before heading back to her home port in Amsterdam.

"Amsterdam is already home to 770 American companies, and we see a great opportunity to increase that number in the coming years," said Mayor van der Laan. "San Francisco, New York City, Baltimore and Boston are all major centers for economic development and innovation. The goal of our visit is to fortify our long-lasting friendships, grow our commercial relations and to brief the U.S. business community on doing business in the Netherlands. Our city offers a launch pad to do business throughout Europe as well as globally."

The visit aims to strengthen the already strong ties between the U.S. and the Amsterdam region. American companies account for 30 percent of the employment created by companies in the Amsterdam region which translates to 48,000 people. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Netherlands has been the top recipient of U.S. foreign investments for five consecutive years, and the Netherlands is the third largest investor in the U.S.

BALTIMORE
The delegation's visit to Baltimore will include a forum hosted by North Holland Vice Governor Jan van Run and the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) on April 1 aboard the Clipper Stad Amsterdam. The event, "Going global through the Netherlands," will highlight the Netherlands as a launch pad for U.S. companies to expand into Europe. In addition, historian Russell Shorto will discuss the historic ties between the Netherlands and the United States. The delegation will also meet with Baltimore city officials.

SAN FRANCISCO
On April, 8, The City of Amsterdam and Cisco will sign a Memorandum of Understanding to build an Internet of Everything program for Amsterdam and provide new services to its residents to make the city more livable and sustainable by connecting more people, processes, and data to the internet.

Later that day, the mayor will launch Project Senior Vitality at the Curry Senior Center with its Director, David Knego, and San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim. The program builds on a successful Dutch model, where socially-isolated seniors were provided with a tablet and a one-on-one coach, who provided training over a period of three months. The program is designed to start with Curry Senior Center residents and grow to the surrounding Tenderloin community. That evening, the mayor will visit Dutch Basecamp where U.S. start-ups are scheduled to pitch executives from Dutch multinationals including KLM, Port of Amsterdam, ABN/Amroand Alliander. Works from Dutch Design Week and fashion technology will also be on display.

NEW YORK/BOSTON
On April 11, Mayor van der Laan plans to tour Sabey Data Centers and participate in a press event with Sabey Data Centers President John Sabey to announce the launch of AMS-IX New York. AMS-IX New York is a neutral and independent Internet Exchange modeled after AMS-IX in Amsterdam, which is distributed over 12 data centers serving more than 600 IP networks globally, making it one of the world's largest Internet exchanges. In Boston, Mayor van der Laan and Deputy Mayor Gehrels plans to hold a series of meetings with members of the business community aboard the Clipper Stad Amsterdam.

Amsterdam has a service-driven economy with a large number of companies in the ICT/technology, creative, fashion, financial, transport and life sciences sectors. The Amsterdam Metropolitan Area ranks fifth in the world for top locations for ICT/tech companies to launch, and more than 20,000 companies in the sector employed over 100,000 people. In addition, more than 2,600 fashion-related enterprises currently call Amsterdam home. And due to its strategic location in Europe, the city serves as an important logistics center for distribution. U.S. companies with a presence in Amsterdam include Exxon Mobil, Twitter, Warner Bros., J.P. Morgan Chase and Microsoft.

The Stad Amsterdam is a three-masted clipper nearly 88 yards long and whose design was inspired by the 1854 merchant trading vessel De Amsterdam. As a training vessel and passenger ship, Clipper Stad Amsterdam travels the world annually. For more information, visit stadamsterdam.nl.

Mayor van der Laan plans to lead the delegation that will also include Amsterdam's Deputy Mayor Carolien Gehrels. van der Laan has served as Amsterdam mayor since July 7, 2010. For more information about the City of Amsterdam, visit amsterdaminbusiness.com.

Amsterdam: a responsible capital
Amsterdam is a city with a strong international profile that fosters economic growth. Van der Laan: "The international policy aims to strengthen Amsterdam as an international city: economic, governmental, social and cultural; through trade missions, acquisition, twinning and European lobby; through collaboration and knowledge sharing. The purpose of this trip is that Amsterdam, as a relatively prosperous city, strives to employ a fair degree of reciprocity in its international policy and, in doing so, behaves as a responsible capital city."