Apparel is made for export to the Netherlands at Venture International Joint Stock Company in Thanh Tiên Commune, the central province of Nghệ An’s Thanh Chương District.   — VNA/VNS Photo Tá Chuyên

HÀ NỘI — The governments of Việt Nam and Netherlands needed to continue removing barriers to help businesses boost trade co-operation, said Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte at a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Vương Đình Huệ in Hà Nội on Tuesday.

The meeting was part of Prime Minister Rutte's working visit to Việt Nam, with the participation of CEOs from 70 leading enterprises from the Netherlands and Việt Nam.

Rutte said his country admired the country's rapid growth.

He appreciated the efforts of the Vietnamese Government in enhancing the business environment, national competitiveness and innovation indicators. He believed economic co-operation, trade and investment between the two countries would grow.

The PM also said the two sides had many similarities, due to their proximity to the sea.

Dutch enterprises had advantages in agriculture, water and wind power, and were willing to partner with Vietnamese enterprises, he said.

The Netherlands is currently the largest European investor in Việt Nam with total registered capital of more than US$9.5 billion, with well-known corporations such as Heineken, Unilever and Shell. Last year, bilateral turnover reached over $7.84 billion, accounting for 1.6 per cent of Việt Nam’s total import-export turnover and nearly 14.6 per cent of the total import-export turnover of Việt Nam with EU countries. 

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Huệ said Việt Nam had set a rapid and sustainable growth target for the next five years. 

Huệ said Việt Nam would boost economic restructuring, while improving productivity and quality of economic growth, and scientific and technological development and innovation.

“We will continue to promote the effectiveness of international integration, and push infrastructure development as well as improving the quality of human resources,” Huệ said.

Huệ said that when the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) was signed and took effect, it would create new opportunities for Dutch businesses to invest in the country. He expected the Dutch government to support the signing of this important agreement.

Huệ said Việt Nam was willing to create favourable conditions for Netherlands businesses to invest in areas such as electronics, information technology, high technology, sustainable agriculture, irrigation and environmentally-friendly industry, renewable energy, wind power, seaports, shipbuilding, infrastructure development, healthcare, education and green growth.

"Your success is also our success," Huệ said.

At the meeting, CEOs of Dutch enterprises expressed their willingness to co-operate and invest in the interests of both sides and in accordance with the development goals of Việt Nam. — VNS