Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung met on February 5 with Marten van den Berg, Director General for Foreign Economic Relations at the Netherlands’ Foreign Ministry, calling for more support in smart city building.

Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung (R) meets Marten van den Berg, Director General for Foreign Economic Relations at the Netherlands’ Foreign Ministry, on February 5

At the meeting in Hanoi, the Dutch official affirmed that his country always wants bilateral relations, especially those between the two capital cities, to become stronger.

The two countries share many similarities in coping with climate change, he said, noting that the enhancement of bilateral cooperation will provide them with more opportunities to support each other.

As Hanoi is focusing on building a smart city, the Netherlands wants to introduce prestigious companies in green technology to help the Vietnamese capital address traffic and climate problems as well as challenges posed by urban development, he added.

Marten van den Berg said in 2018, when the countries mark 45 years of their diplomatic ties, the Dutch Embassy will organise numerous celebratory activities, especially a photo exhibition that will attract famous photographers from around the world. He asked for Hanoi’s assistance in organising these activities.

For his part, Chung said Vietnam and the Netherlands, as well as Hanoi and Amsterdam, boast intensive friendship evidenced by many major structures of the European country in Hanoi, including the Hanoi – Amsterdam High School for the Gifted.

He added in its smart city building plan, Hanoi prioritises technologies of European countries, especially wastewater and environmental pollution treatment technologies of the Netherlands. In the time ahead, it will work with Dutch technology company Philips to install a concentrated lighting system.

Hanoi needs technology assistance in many fields like building e-government, population database, a traffic control centre, and air monitoring database. It hopes that the Netherlands will continue helping the city to soon reach its set targets, the official noted.-VNA