Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte (second from left) at the event (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister of the Netherlands MarkRutte and Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue attended a roundtablediscussion with 70 leading Dutch businesses and senior officials of Vietnam's ministries and sectors in Hanoi on April 9.
Addressing the event, part of an official visitby PM Rutte, Deputy PM Hue said that despite the geographical distance, the twocountries’ trade relations date back to long time ago. In the 17th century,merchant vessels from the Netherlands reached Hoi An port in the area which isnow Vietnam’s central province of Quang Nam, laying the foundation forbilateral trade ties.
This is an important historical basis for thestrong development of their economic links, as seen in the recent past, hesaid, noting that the Netherlands is currently the biggest European investor inVietnam with the total registered capital of over 9.5 billion USD. In 2018,bilateral trade surpassed 7.84 billion USD, accounting for 1.6 percent ofVietnam’s total trade turnover and about 14.6 percent of the country’s tradewith EU members.
Roughly 77,300 Dutch tourists visited theSoutheast Asian nation last year, making the Netherlands the fourth largestsource of European travellers to Vietnam.
Valuing the Dutch delegation’s visit to Vietnam,Hue considered this trip an important chance to foster investment partnershipand capitalise on the sound bilateral relations.
The deputy PM expressed his belief that once theEU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) is signed and takes effect, it willcreate new opportunities for Dutch enterprises to invest and do business in Vietnam.Therefore, he asked the government, parliament, and businesses of theNetherlands to support the signing and ratification of this deal.
Vietnam is ready to provide optimal conditionsfor Dutch firms to invest in fields they hold strengths in, such aselectronics, information technology, high technology, sustainable agriculture,irrigation, environmentally-friendly industries, renewable energy, wind power,seaport, shipbuilding, infrastructure development, healthcare, education-training,and green growth, Hue said, adding that “Your successes are also ours.”
For his part, PM Rutte said the two governmentsshould continue removing as many obstacles as possible so as to facilitateinvestment cooperation between their businesses.
He also spoke highly of the VietnameseGovernment’s efforts in improving the business climate, nationalcompetitiveness, and innovation indexes. He voiced his belief that bilateraleconomic, trade, and investment links will develop with greater strength in thetime ahead.
Aside from trade, both sides also share manysimilarities, including marine economic potential, deltas, and climate change-relatedchallenges. As such, the 70 Dutch companies visiting Vietnam this time, whichhave strength in such fields as agriculture, water, and wind power, are willingto cooperate with Vietnamese businesses, the PM added.
At the discussion, CEOs of Dutch companies saidthey are ready to make cooperation and investment for the sake of both sides.Deputy PM Hue also fielded their questions and opinions about Vietnam’sinvestment policy. –VNA
Addressing the event, part of an official visitby PM Rutte, Deputy PM Hue said that despite the geographical distance, the twocountries’ trade relations date back to long time ago. In the 17th century,merchant vessels from the Netherlands reached Hoi An port in the area which isnow Vietnam’s central province of Quang Nam, laying the foundation forbilateral trade ties.
This is an important historical basis for thestrong development of their economic links, as seen in the recent past, hesaid, noting that the Netherlands is currently the biggest European investor inVietnam with the total registered capital of over 9.5 billion USD. In 2018,bilateral trade surpassed 7.84 billion USD, accounting for 1.6 percent ofVietnam’s total trade turnover and about 14.6 percent of the country’s tradewith EU members.
Roughly 77,300 Dutch tourists visited theSoutheast Asian nation last year, making the Netherlands the fourth largestsource of European travellers to Vietnam.
Valuing the Dutch delegation’s visit to Vietnam,Hue considered this trip an important chance to foster investment partnershipand capitalise on the sound bilateral relations.
The deputy PM expressed his belief that once theEU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) is signed and takes effect, it willcreate new opportunities for Dutch enterprises to invest and do business in Vietnam.Therefore, he asked the government, parliament, and businesses of theNetherlands to support the signing and ratification of this deal.
Vietnam is ready to provide optimal conditionsfor Dutch firms to invest in fields they hold strengths in, such aselectronics, information technology, high technology, sustainable agriculture,irrigation, environmentally-friendly industries, renewable energy, wind power,seaport, shipbuilding, infrastructure development, healthcare, education-training,and green growth, Hue said, adding that “Your successes are also ours.”
For his part, PM Rutte said the two governmentsshould continue removing as many obstacles as possible so as to facilitateinvestment cooperation between their businesses.
He also spoke highly of the VietnameseGovernment’s efforts in improving the business climate, nationalcompetitiveness, and innovation indexes. He voiced his belief that bilateraleconomic, trade, and investment links will develop with greater strength in thetime ahead.
Aside from trade, both sides also share manysimilarities, including marine economic potential, deltas, and climate change-relatedchallenges. As such, the 70 Dutch companies visiting Vietnam this time, whichhave strength in such fields as agriculture, water, and wind power, are willingto cooperate with Vietnamese businesses, the PM added.
At the discussion, CEOs of Dutch companies saidthey are ready to make cooperation and investment for the sake of both sides.Deputy PM Hue also fielded their questions and opinions about Vietnam’sinvestment policy. –VNA
VNA
