Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính holds phone talks with Prime Minister of Netherlands Mark Rutte on Monday. —VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính and his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte discussed measures to further promote the comprehensive relations between the two countries in the future during their phone talks held on Monday.

PMr Chính appreciated and thanked the Government and business community of the Netherlands for donating medical supplies worth VNĐ40 billion to help Việt Nam overcome difficulties caused by the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He affirmed that Việt Nam always attached importance to developing the friendship and comprehensive cooperation with the Netherlands in politic-diplomacy, trade-investment, security-national defence, culture, agricultural education and adaptation to climate change.

PM Chính stressed that the Dutch PM was a close friend of Việt Nam who has made an active contribution in building the foundation and promoting the development of the relations between the two countries, particularly since Việt Nam and the Netherlands established the strategic partnership in the field of climate change adaptation and water management since 2010.

Two-way trade turnover between the two countries kept increasing annually in spite of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching US$6.79 billion in the first ten months of 2021, a year-on-year increase of 13 per cent.

The implementation of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) since August 2020 has brought in many opportunities for Vietnamese and Dutch businesses to expand cooperation, helping many Vietnamese farm products to get access to EU market with preferential taxes.

PM Chính appreciated that the Netherlands was one of the countries with the world’s leading logistics system and the country served as the biggest market for Việt Nam’s export products in EU as well as an important gateway for Vietnamese products to enter the EU.

PM Chính wished that the Netherlands would support Việt Nam to connect with European ports and industrial zones, helping to increase the number of Vietnamese products exported to these markets; and promote the Dutch Parliament to soon ratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Agreement (EVIPA) in order to facilitate trade and investment activities between the two countries.

Dutch PM Mark spoke highly of recent achievements made by Việt Nam, particularly achievements in COVID-19 prevention and control. He said the two countries should cooperate closely to enhance investment and trade activities to soon recover and develop rapidly and strongly again.

He said Việt Nam and the Netherlands were both seriously affected by climate changes, urging for great efforts to promote set solutions and plans. The two leaders agreed on cooperation programmes in the future, including the master planning of the Mekong Delta by 2030 with a vision towards 2050, towards sustainable development and adaptation to climate changes; the programme on sustainable agricultural transformation in the Mekong Delta region; addressing issues relating to subsidence, river erosion, climate changes and natural disaster prevention and control; and promoting the circular economy and renewable energy to serve sustainable development targets of each country.

The two leaders agreed to maintain regular exchange mechanisms as well as cooperation orientation in the future in various fields, including seaports, education and tourism. PM Chính proposed the Netherlands grant scholarships to Vietnamese students and create conditions for the Vietnamese community to live, study and work in Holland.

The two PMs discussed measures to strengthen cooperation within the framework of strategic partnership in the fields of adaptation to climate change and water management; sustainable agriculture and food security.

The two sides agreed to continue enhancing public-private cooperation and promote programmes and projects of cooperation fields that the two countries recorded encouraging results in the past, focusing on areas that are strengths of the Netherlands and the demand of Việt Nam.

They discussed measures to foster cooperation in regional and multilateral forums, including issues relating to the East Sea (South China Sea), stressing the importance of ensuring peace, stability, security, and safety of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea, resolving disputes by peaceful means through dialogue and based on international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS); fully and effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC); heading towards the building of an efficient and effective Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC).

PM Chính invited his Dutch counterpart to visit Việt Nam and the latter accepted with pleasure. The Dutch PM said he wished to soon welcome the Vietnamese PM to visit the Netherlands in the future. VNS