HÀ NỘI – The upcoming official visit to Việt Nam by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte from November 1-2 is expected to continue lifting bilateral relations to a new height as the two countries are celebrating the 50th founding anniversary of their diplomatic ties this year.

This will be Rutte’s third visit to Việt Nam, after his trips in June 2014 when the two countries agreed to set up a strategic partnership in agriculture and food security, and in April 2019 when the bilateral relationship was upgraded to a comprehensive partnership.

The Netherlands is one of Việt Nam’s leading important and time-tested partners. It is currently Việt Nam’s biggest investor in the European Union with combined capital of US$13.7 billion, and the largest importer of Vietnamese products in Europe, with two-way trade surpassing $11 billion.

Việt Nam and the Netherlands signed an agreement on strategic partnership in climate change and water management in 2010, and another on strategic partnership in agriculture and food security in 2014.

Commenting on the bilateral friendship, Dutch Ambassador to Việt Nam Kees van Baar said that the two countries have naturally became partners based on priority areas including climate change adaptation and water management, agriculture, oil and gas, marine economy and logistics services.

Cooperation between the two countries does not stop at the government level, but relations between their universities, research institutes, businesses and social organisations are also very close.

Sharing the same view, Vietnamese Ambassador to the Netherlands Ngô Hướng Nam expressed his hope that during the Dutch PM's upcoming visit, high-tech businesses will invest in the Vietnamese market and contribute to strengthening the bilateral relationship.

He also believed the visit will be an important milestone, opening up a promising future of bilateral cooperation in the coming years. VNS