He was greeted at Schiphol Amsterdam airport by Dutch Minister of Defence Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert and diplomats from Vietnam and the Netherlands.

During his visit to the Netherland until July 11, Prime Minister Phuc will meet with his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte. The two leaders will witness the signing of documents for cooperation between the two governments and businesses from the two countries.

He is also scheduled to meet with leaders of the Dutch parliament and senior governmental and local officials as well as representatives of the International Court of Justice and International Court of Arbitration. He will attend a Vietnam-Netherlands business forum and a round-table talk with major enterprises and investors from the host country.

The visit which lasts till July 11 takes place at a time when Vietnam and the Netherlands are enjoying comprehensive development in their relations, setting a model for dynamic and effective cooperation between a Southeast Asian country and a European nation.

The two countries have defined climate change adaptation, water management, agriculture, energy, sea-based economy, and logistics services as prioritised cooperative fields.

Bilateral trade has continuously increased in recent years with Vietnam recording trade surplus. The Netherlands is now one of the biggest export markets of Vietnam in Europe.

In the first five months of 2017, two-way trade hit 2.9 billion USD. Vietnam mainly exported seafood, vegetables and fruit, cashew nut, coffee, peppercorn, rice, chemical products, and plastics, while importing machines, equipment, automobile spare parts, and dairy and pharmaceutical products.

The Netherlands is among the largest European investors in Vietnam, ranking 11th out of the 119 countries and territories investing in Vietnam with 287 projects worth 7.7 billion USD.

After establishing diplomatic ties with Vietnam in 1973, the Netherlands began providing non-refundable official development assistance (ODA) for the Southeast Asian country, mainly in humanitarian activities, education-training, and healthcare.

From January 2014, the Netherlands shifted its relations with Vietnam to “trade partnership” with a focus on promoting bilateral trade and investment. 

In 2010, the two sides established a strategic partnership on climate change adaptation and water management. Later in 2014, they signed a strategic partnership agreement on sustainable agriculture and food security.

VNA