Foreign companies continue to invest in the Netherlands, creating employment opportunities primarily in the Randstad (a large conurbation comprising four major cities: Amsterdam, Utrecht, The Hague and Rotterdam).

MOSCOW - During his upcoming visit to the Netherlands on October 30, Russia's foreign minister will give priority to trade and economic ties between the two countries, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Tuesday.

A record number of nearly 800,000 companies were registered in the Netherlands, as of 1 January, 2008. This is some 40,000 more than the year before. Most of these companies are active in commercial and business services.

The value of Dutch agricultural imports and exports in 2007 was up by 14.6 and 8.8 percent respectively, on 2006 figures. The sharp increase in the value of imports can largely be put down to the fact that import prices increased more than export prices.

After an excellent 2006, with Dutch retail sales growing by 5.3 percent, 2007 showed a slowdown in growth with 3.8 percent. ING Economics Department predicts a further decrease in sales growth in 2008 to 3.0 percent.