During Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte's visit to Vietnam, the exhibition "Mapping the Dragon: Vietnam through the eyes of Dutch mapmakers" took place at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam on November 2.

‘This is my third visit to Vietnam. The previous visits have been memorable for me, as I am always impressed by your economic development. And it is this ongoing economic development that brings me back to your country once more. I believe that we can upgrade our cooperation in the high-tech and digital solutions sector. A field with a lot of international interest and opportunities for cooperation between the Netherlands and Vietnam. Joint opportunities are also found in our shared commitment to net-zero emissions," said Mark Dutte.

This year marks the anniversary of more than 400 years of people-to-people ties and the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relations establishment between Vietnam and the Netherlands. Even before the establishment of trade relations between the two countries, maps that show the coast of Vietnam were produced in European countries like the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxemburg.

Professor Ngo Lam (far right) introduced the exhibition to Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte (second from right) (Photo: Dinh Hoa).

The exhibitions display historical maps, nautical charts, and atlas pages made by Dutch mapmakers that show Vietnam and the surrounding regions in Asia. They used to be published and widely used in the Netherlands. They now become valuable documents that reflect the changing political and geographical situations of the region over the decades. Currently, the collection is displayed at the library of Leiden University, one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands.

"Combining the roundtable discussion "International law and order at sea" with the exhibition is a good idea. The exhibition has the historical values that coordinate the discussion on the issues of concerns regarding maritime law and order at sea in the region," said Rachna Srivastav.

According to Jaroslav Zukerstein, Deputy Ambassador of the Czech Republic in Hanoi, the event left a good impression thanks to the professionalism and thoughtfulness of the organizers. The exhibition also helped open up interesting dialogues about diplomacy

"The exhibition was fantastic. It is a link about the history that the two peoples from Vietnam and the Netherlands had from centuries ago," said Jaroslav Zukerstein.

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