The Vietnamese top legislator was welcomed at the airport by General Secretary of the Dutch House of Representatives Frans Van Dijk and Vietnamese Ambassador to the Netherlands Ngo Thi Hoa, among others. 

As the first visit of a Vietnamese NA leader to the country, the trip aims to consolidate friendship and multi-faceted cooperation with the Netherlands amid the celebration of the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations (April 9). It will mark a new milestone in friendship and cooperation between the two Parliaments.

The two sides will exchange information and experience in each country's parliamentary activities and areas of interest; promote cooperation in multi-lateral parliamentary forums to which the two parliaments are members, such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and the Asia- Europe Parliamentary Partnership.

Over the past 45 years, the Vietnam – Netherlands relations have grown fruitfully in all fields and been further deepened. Mutual understanding and trust have been strengthened via high-level visits and cooperation mechanisms.

Top legislator meets Vietnamese community in the Netherlands

National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan has lauded the contributions of the 20,000-strong Vietnamese community in the Netherlands, especially the Vietnamese Association in The Hague, to promoting Vietnam’s image to the world and social movements at home.

Meeting officials of the Vietnamese community and officials of the Vietnamese Embassy in the European country on March 26, the top legislator noted that the association has worked with the Vietnamese Embassy to organise Vietnamese classes in the country since late 2017, promoting national culture and traditions.

She affirmed the Party and State’s policy of considering overseas Vietnamese communities an inseparable part of the nation, noting that many policies have been designed to create favourable conditions for Vietnamese people abroad to return home and seek business opportunities, especially in science and technology.

A revised Law on Technology Transfer has been issued, aiming to encourage more technology transfer to Vietnam, she noted.

She also praised the efforts of the Vietnamese Embassy in the Netherlands in implementing tasks assigned by the Party and State, pledging that the NA will create optimal conditions for the embassy to operate efficiently.

She expressed delight at the sound friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and the Netherlands over the past 45 years, as well as strengthened bilateral political trust.

Links in climate change response, water management, sustainable agriculture and food security have been fruitful, she added.

The Netherlands has become the largest export market of Vietnam in the EU. Two-way trade in 2017 exceeded 7.7 billion USD, while the Netherlands ranks 11th out of 126 foreign investors in Vietnam with total investment of 8.17 billion USD.

NA Chairwoman pledges favourable condition for Dutch investors

The Vietnamese National Assembly will create a favourable, transparent and equal legal environment for foreign investors in general and those from the Netherlands in particular to do business in Vietnam.

NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan made the pledge at a reception for leaders of the Netherlands-Vietnam Chamber of Commerce (NVCC) in The Hague on March 26 during her ongoing official visit to the country.

The legislation leader said her visit to the country aims to deepen ties between Vietnam and the Netherlands and between the two parliaments.

She hailed the NVCC’s role in helping Dutch enterprises explore and invest in Vietnam’s market, believing that with its experience and knowledge of Vietnam, as well as its close-knit ties with the Dutch Government, the EU, the Embassy and other organisations of Vietnam in the country, the NVCC will provide more support for local enterprises to do business in Vietnam.

She hoped that the NVCC would continue serving as a bridge connecting Dutch investors with Vietnam.

For his part, NVCC President Erik Mattyssen briefed Ngan on the organisation’s structure and operation, saying it was established in 1995 after a Dutch business delegation visited Vietnam to explore the country’s investment environment.

The NVCC aims to promote investment and trade between the two countries, Mattyssen said, adding that all NVCCC management board members are leaders of enterprises and groups that are operating successfully in Vietnam.

He lauded Vietnam’s investment environment, expressing his belief in the country’s huge potential for economic development as well as investment opportunities for Dutch enterprises.

More and more enterprises from the Netherlands invest in Vietnam nowadays, he said, affirming that this shows the increasingly effective cooperation between the two nations’ enterprises. 

He extended thanks to the Vietnamese top legislator for her commitment to a favourable, transparent and equal legal environment to foreign investors, pledging that the NVCC will do its utmost to connect the two countries’ firms.

Currently, Vietnam and the Netherlands are important trade and investment partners, with the latter Vietnam’s biggest export market in the EU.

In 2017, two-way trade between the two countries exceeded 7.77 billion USD. The Netherlands ranked 11 out of 126 nations and territories investing in Vietnam, with 305 projects worth nearly 8.2 billion USD.

Vietnam treasures relations with Netherlands

NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and Queen of the Netherlands Maxima Zorreguieta Cerruti. 

Vietnam attaches great importance to relations and cooperation with the Netherlands, seeing it as an example of “significant and effective relations” between Vietnam and an European country.

National Aseembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan made the statement while meeting with Queen of the Netherlands Maxima Zorreguieta Cerruti at Noordeinde Palace in The Hague on March 26.

Ngan recalled Queen Maxima’s visit to Vietnam in May 2017 in capacity as the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Envoy on Comprehensive Finance for Development, during which the Queen shared with Vietnamese authorities information and experience on financial markets in the context of Vietnam developing the field.

“Vietnam still needs to make more efforts and hopes to continue to receive the attention and support of the international community,” Ngan said, expressing her wish that the Queen, as the representative of the Netherlands and the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy on Comprehensive Finance for Development, would help mobilise financial and technical resources from the UN and other international organisations to held Vietnam implement comprehensive financial efficiency.

Queen Maxima lauded Vietnam’s efforts in developing the national strategy on inclusive growth to promote full access to financial services, enhance its economic position and develop the country.

The Queen urged the Vietnamese Government to approve a national strategy on comprehensive finance and establish a coordination committee for the strategy. Along with that, Vietnam should implement a telecommunications correspondent network for payment functions, she said.

The Dutch Queen also proposed Vietnam pay more attention to training human resources and spend resources to implement this strategy. She said she would discuss with the World Bank to devise policies to help Vietnam implement this strategy effectively.

NA Chairwoman receives Rotterdam int’l port’s Director

National Assembly (NA) Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan has suggested stronger cooperation between Vietnam and the Netherlands in seaport development during a reception for Director of the Port of Rotterdam International (PORint) Rene Van Der Plas in The Hague on March 26 (local time). 

During the meeting, the Vietnamese top legislator affirmed her ongoing official visit to the Netherlands aims to promote and further deepen the friendship and cooperation between the two nations in general and their parliaments in particular.

She also highlighted the fruitful bilateral relations across fields over the last 45 years, ceaselessly reinforced political trust. The two countries are now important economic and trade partners of each other. 

Vietnam needs to learn from PORint’s experience in optimising the production and business process, and distributing goods globally, in close connection with the science and technology revolution in the transport and IT sectors, she stressed.  

In his response, Rene Van Der Plas briefed NA Chairwoman Ngan on PORint, one of the largest in Europe and the world, saying that it is a modern operation and management model, especially in creating added value processes, providing warehouses and distributing goods. 

The port has worked as a trans-shipment port for about 460 million tonnes of goods, ranking eighth among the largest ports in the world, he noted. 

PORint has attracted investment from many global leading enterprises, he said, adding that it is also connected to industrial parks, and has great potential for reaching production and consumption markets.

The top Vietnamese legislator asked PORint to support Ho Chi Minh City and other Vietnamese localities in planning, building and managing port infrastructure; maritime training; logistics service; flood tide and urban flood prevention. 

While hailing the Dutch Government–funded International Business Programme on cooperation between Vietnam and the Netherland in sea, port and inland waterways, she expressed her belief that the programme will contribute to creating a smooth transport corridor in the multi-mode transport connection system in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta region and Ho Chi Minh City.

VN wants to learn from Netherlands’ delta development: NA chief

Vietnam wishes to learn from the Netherlands’ experience in planning strategies and mobilising finance to sustainably develop its Mekong Delta, said National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.

Ngan made the remark while meeting Hermen Borst, Director of the Staff of the Delta Programme Commissioner, in The Hague on March 26, as part of her official trip to the European country.

Underscoring her visit’s aim of strengthening ties with the Netherlands and its parliament, the top legislator said Vietnam – Netherlands relations have undergone 45 years of fruitful development across fields, with increasing political trust.

The two countries signed strategic partnership arrangements on Climate Change Adaptation and Water Management in 2010 and on Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security in 2014, she noted, saying these are effective cooperation models capitalising on the Netherlands’ strengths and contributing to sustainable growth in Vietnam.

For his part, Hermen Borst said he took part in a conference on sustainable development of Mekong Delta in response to climate change held in Vietnam’s Can Tho city last year.

He said he was impressed with the speech made by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the conference and with the local Government’s issuance of Resolution 120/NQ-CP on the matter in 2017.

Both Vietnam and the Netherlands are affected by climate change, the official noted, informing the Vietnamese NA Chairwoman of his country’s experience in the field, particularly its promulgation of the Delta Act and Delta Programme.

The Delta Act constitutes the legal basis for the Delta Fund, which can be used to finance the projects of the Delta Programme. The Delta Commissioner is leading the Delta Programme, which includes research to identify the climate challenges and potential solutions, and submission of recommendations to the parliament for suitable financing.

With such experience, the Netherlands wants to stand side by side with Vietnam in adapting to climate change and protecting water resources, he affirmed.

Expressing her delight at the Dutch official’s sharing, Ngan said it would be valuable knowledge for Vietnam along its path to sustainably develop the Mekong Delta.

NA Chairwoman attends ceremony marking Vietnam-Netherlands diplomatic ties

Chairwoman of the Vietnam National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan highlighted the continuous development of the Vietnam-Netherlands cooperation in all areas over the past 45 years while addressing a ceremony in The Hague on March 26. 

The top legislator attended the ceremony marking the 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and the Netherlands as part of her official visit to the country from March 26-28. 

Vietnam and the Netherlands have become a strategic partner of each other in major spheres like climate change response and water management, and food security and sustainable development, she said. 

Such cooperative achievements have been reaped not only for the past 45 years but more than 400 years since Dutch vessels anchored at Vietnam’s Hoi An port to trade rice and pepper, the NA Chairwoman stressed. 

Nowadays, the Netherlands is affirming its role as Vietnam’s leading European investment and trade partner, with famous businesses like Heineken, Damen, Unilever, Fiesland Campina and Philips, she said. 

The leader hailed contributions of the Dutch firms to Vietnam’s socio-economic development and integration, as well as cooperation between the two countries, for the sake of their people. 

The sectoral strategic partnership has created a premise for bilateral collaboration in all related areas like marine economy, infrastructure, agriculture, national defence and education, she said.  

Noting Vietnam’s reform efforts in all fields, NA Chairwoman Ngan said the country has received valuable support of the Netherland on the path, through various cooperation programmes. 

The leader expressed her belief that the bilateral relationship will continue to yield fruits, and that cultural and art exchange programmes, along with investment and trade promotion forums to be held in the two countries in 2018 will help bring the them closer to each other.

Speaking at the ceremony, Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management Cora van Nieuwenhuizen, emphasised similarities shared by Vietnam and the Netherlands. 

She applauded cooperative achievements gained by the two countries over the past decade, especially in water management and climate change combat, with the most noteworthy being the Mekong Delta Plan 2013. 

The Netherlands wants to maintain the close cooperation with Vietnam towards a Mekong Delta of sustainability and prosperity, she said.