In honour of 400 years of trade between the Netherlands and Sweden, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia brought an official visit to the Netherlands on the 4th and 5th of April, at the invitation of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima. The highlight of the visit was the Innovation and Growth Seminar at the Swedish Chamber of Commerce. Nedap - selected as one of the most innovative companies in the Netherlands - participated during this seminar.

Sweden and the Netherlands are comparing well with other European countries when it comes to innovation and competitiveness. In scoreboards and indexes both countries usually rank high. Successful clusters have also been established in order to foster this development, for example in the form of Kista Science City north of Stockholm and the Brainport region in and around Eindhoven.

The following question was discussed by prominent representatives from governments, business, and academia during the Seminar Innovation & Growth on the 4th of April: ‘What can we learn from the successes that we have had and how can we prepare for an increasingly stiff competition from other parts of Europe and from other parts of the world?’ Furthermore, the Swedish Chamber Export Prize was handed out by His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.