Dutch PM Mark Rutte's Visit - Important Milestone in Vietnam-Netherlands Cooperation

Ambassador Kees van Baar said that, accepting the invitation of Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte paid an official visit to Vietnam from November 1-2.

This is the third visit to Vietnam by the Prime Minister of the Netherlands. Before this visit to Vietnam, Mark Rutte paid two official visits to Vietnam in June 2014 and April 2019.

Kees van Baar, ambassador of the Netherlands to Vietnam. Photo: VGP

According to the Ambassador, the visit is important to the relationship between the two countries in the context that Vietnam and the Netherlands are celebrating the 50th anniversary of officially establishing diplomatic relations.

The Netherlands is currently the European Union's largest investor in Vietnam, with a total investment capital of about US $13.7 billion, and the largest importer of Vietnamese goods in Europe with a total bilateral trade turnover of more than US $11 billion.

Ambassador of the Netherlands to Vietnam Kees van Baar shared that the main focus of this visit is to promote bilateral cooperation in the fields of high technology and digital transformation.

Previously, during Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to the Netherlands in December last year, the PM visited Brainport Industries Campus (BIC), and Eindhoven city, where the Netherlands' leading technology enterprises gather.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh also asked the Netherlands to support the construction of a Brainport in Hanoi following the Brainport model in Eindhoven. This shows that Vietnam is interested and focused on high technology development.

Vietnam's high-tech industry currently has many opportunities and development potential. High-tech corporations such as Samsung, LG, Foxconn and Intel are also "pouring" billions of dollars of investment in Vietnam.

During the visit of the Dutch Prime Minister to Vietnam, the Prime Minister will meet with leaders of Vietnamese high-tech enterprises, as well as representatives of leading technology corporations from the United States and the RoK to discuss potential and business development opportunities in Vietnam.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Photo: AFP

Besides technological cooperation, strengthening cooperation on water, agriculture and climate change is also the focus of this visit to Vietnam by Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

Accordingly, Vietnam and the Netherlands signed two strategic cooperation agreements, the Strategic Partnership Agreement on Climate Change and Water Management in 2010 and the Strategic Partnership on Agriculture and Food Security in 2014.

The Ambassador said that there is still much room for the two countries to strengthen cooperation in climate change adaptation and water management because Vietnam and the Netherlands have many things in common.

Both countries have economies based on international trade and investment, and large deltas. The two countries face serious water and climate change challenges and their agricultural sectors are export-oriented.

Within the framework of his visit to Vietnam, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands will attend a roundtable event on the topic "International law and order at sea," organized by Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, Clingendael Academy (Netherlands) and the Dutch Embassy.

Cooperation between the two countries does not stop at the government level. The relationship between universities, research institutes, businesses and social organizations of the two countries is also close and profound.

Besides, the relationship between the two peoples flourished and developed well before the two sides established diplomatic relations, when the first Dutch merchant ships arrived at Hoi An port in the early 17th century, more than 400 years ago.

Therefore, the official visit of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte to Vietnam is an affirmation of the strong relationship between the two countries, Ambassador Kees van Baar said.

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