PMs of Vietnam, Netherlands vow to deepen ties

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte reiterated their determination to deepen the relationship between Vietnam and the Netherlands in a sustainable fashion during their talks in The Hague on July 10.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (L) and his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte (Source: VNA)

At the talks, which took place following a welcome ceremony for the Vietnamese leader the same day, host and guest reviewed the bilateral cooperation over the past time, especially in the five priority areas of climate change response and water management, agriculture, oil and gas, seaport and logistics services.

PM Phuc congratulated the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy led by PM Mark Rutte on its victory during the general election on March 15, 2017.

He stressed that Vietnam always attaches importance to enhancing the friendship and multi-faceted cooperation with the Netherlands, one of the country’s leading partners in the EU.

For his part, PM Mark Rutte affirmed Vietnam is the Netherlands’s important partner and a potential market in Southeast Asia.

He said the Government and business circle of the Netherlands back the early signing and ratification of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which, he said, is expected to open up new opportunities for investment and business cooperation between the two sides.

The two PMs noted that the Netherlands has become Vietnam’s second largest European trade partner with two-way trade reaching 6.7 billion USD in 2016 and the biggest European investor in Vietnam with total registered investment worth 7.7 billion USD.

The two sides also agreed to step up their partnership in high-tech sustainable agriculture and food safety, improving value chains of meat products and conducting research on plant varieties adaptive to climate change.

They were delighted at cooperation achievements in other sectors including aviation, tourism, health care as well as affiliation between the two countries’ localities.

Talking about the East Sea issue, the leaders reiterated the significance of safeguarding peace, stability, security and maritime and aviation safety and freedom in the waters to the region and the world.

PM Mark Rutte emphasised the Netherlands’s backing of the views shared by Vietnam and other ASEAN nations to address disputes by peaceful measures; not to use force or threaten to use force; abide by legal and diplomatic processes in line with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Following the talks, the two PMs and the WB Country Director for Vietnam signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in food safety management.

PM Phuc used this occasion to invite his Dutch counterpart to visit Vietnam. PM Mark Rutte accepted the invitation with pleasure. The time for the visit will be arranged through the diplomatic channel.

At the end of the talks, the two sides issued a joint statement on outcomes of PM Phuc’s official visit to the Netherlands from July 8-11.

(Source: VNA)