British Foreign Secretary William Hague says he wants to strengthen trade relations with the Netherlands, working together to open new markets and remove investment barriers.

He points out that the two countries have traditionally had strong economic ties and are "important investors in each other's economies".

The United Kingdom's exports to the Netherlands totalled 18 billion euros last year, while Dutch exports to the UK were worth 25.8 billion euros.

In an article in the daily Financieele Dagblad, Mr Hague argues that growth is not sustainable without a financially healthy government and announces the creation of an independent office of budgetary responsibility "like the Dutch Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis".

Britain's new Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government is implementing massive public spending cuts and regards the Netherlands as a good example of a financially healthy country.

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