Amsterdam and Seoul signed a wide-ranging cooperation agreement that includes issues of water management, electric transport, cycling and e-governance, Amsterdam Mayor Eberhard van der Laan said in a press briefing with reporters in Seoul on Monday.

Van der Laan signed the MOU with Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon on Monday just before he met with reporters.

He led a three-day trade mission in Seoul and departed for Beijing on Tuesday for the remainder of a weeklong East Asia trip that ended Saturday.

Van der Laan said that the Netherlands and South Korea have a similar outlook on the world, because the countries are both small and international.

“Korea and Holland share a cosmopolitan outlook because we are both very export-oriented,” he said. “We are both very small so we have to look abroad. It is quite natural to be partners.”

During the briefing, Van der Laan also lauded the Cheonggyecheon Stream for its appealing design.

“It’s an inspiring project,” he said.

The areas in which Amsterdam seeks to expand its cooperation with South Korea also include education.

The mayor said the Dutch capital can attract more Korean students because it has two universities that rank in the world’s top 100 of some 5,000 competing centers of higher education.

The Amsterdam delegation included representatives from groups such as the Amsterdam Chamber of Commerce, the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency, the Amsterdam airport of Schiphol, Cisco, Deloitte, The Student Hotel and VU University Amsterdam.

About 50 Korean companies currently have offices in Amsterdam, with 120 in the Netherlands overall. The region attracts about five new Korean companies every year, an official from the Dutch Embassy said. Korean investment in Amsterdam was about 76 million euros ($102.7 million) in 2012. Korea ranks seventh in foreign investment in Amsterdam, tied with India.

Van der Laan said his trip here marked the first such visit by the city to South Korea, leading him to seek out areas in which the strong points of Dutch business could be matched with those of their Korean counterparts.

“We have longed worked to make Amsterdam the most approachable city in Europe. Schiphol Airport, for example, is only a half hour’s drive to the city center, even shorter by train,” he said. “We are small and that’s an asset.”

The mayor and his delegation visited seven companies during the three days in Seoul. The delegation met with LSIS, a Korea-based company engaged in the manufacture and sale of electric power and automation equipment, and Kia Motors, the fifth-best-selling car firm in the Netherlands.

By Philip Iglauer (ephilip2011@heraldcorp.com)