The puzzle piece for a complete 'circle'

“The Netherlands is Vietnam’s European friend”, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte always keeps in mind and has shared that many times. Surely, he will bring that spirit to Vietnam during this visit, to add a beautiful message to the 50-year journey of two friends on two continents.

On the morning of November 2, at the Presidential Palace, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a solemn welcoming ceremony for Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Mark Rutte. (Photo: Nguyen Hong)

Vietnamese Ambassador to the Netherlands Ngo Huong Nam said that the visit is like a piece that completes the "happy ending" of the half-century journey of diplomatic relations between the two countries, following the successful visit to the Netherlands by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the end of December last year.

Favorable "fortune"

Vietnam and the Netherlands officially established diplomatic relations in 1973, but long before that, around the beginning of the 17th century, Dutch merchants came to Vietnam to buy spices, rice, silk, and porcelain. During Vietnam's resistance war against American imperialism, many Dutch people took to the streets to protest the war and established the Netherlands-Vietnam Medical Committee to provide humanitarian aid to Vietnam.

Since the 1990s, the relationship between the two countries has been strengthened. The Netherlands considers Vietnam a priority partner and its policy of promoting cooperation with Vietnam has received high support and consensus from politicians as well as the Dutch business community.

Throughout half a century of nurturing and development, the Vietnam-Netherlands relationship is considered a typical example of a "dynamic and effective relationship" between Vietnam and a European country.

This is demonstrated through the efforts of frequent and intensive exchanges of high-level delegations over the past years. Each visit has nurtured “golden eggs”. These are bilateral cooperation mechanisms that have been approved by the two countries and are operating very effectively. The two sides have signed many important cooperation agreements and arrangements, creating a legal basis to promote bilateral relations in many fields.

The two sides have always shown strong determination to promote comprehensive cooperation, expand cooperation in potential areas, not only including economics, trade, development cooperation but also key areas of climate change response, agriculture, renewable energy, circular economy, etc. to move towards the goal of sustainable development and join hands to effectively respond to global challenges.

With these important foundations, Ambassador Ngo Huong Nam said that the two countries are facing a favorable "time" to develop the relationship to a new height. The source of cooperation is facing milestones of transition to a new, stronger and more developed stage. In 2024, the two countries will celebrate five years of Comprehensive Partnership, 10 years of Strategic Partnership on Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security. Next, in 2025, the two countries will celebrate 15 years of Strategic Partnership on Climate Change Adaptation and Water Management. That both demonstrates the depth of the relationship and is a fulcrum of confidence that the two countries can go further with many new milestones being marked.

During the visit, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte is expected to greet General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, hold official talks with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, witness the handover of a number of cooperation documents, and attend the High-Tech Business Forum...

Exploring “new lands”

Accompanying Prime Minister Mark Rutte on this visit to Vietnam is a delegation of high-tech businesses. According to Ambassador Ngo Huong Nam, this is the difference compared to many previous high-level visits from the Netherlands, which brought business delegations in traditional cooperation areas such as agriculture, climate change, water resource management, etc. For the first time, the Dutch business delegation only included high-tech sectors, specifically electronic microchips, to explore the Vietnamese market.

Currently, Vietnam is expecting a new wave of investment in the field of electronic microchips from the US, the Netherlands as well as many countries around the world. This effort from the Netherlands shows a new turning point in the cooperation between the two countries, demonstrating the interest of Dutch electronic microchip enterprises in the Vietnamese market.

Ambassador Ngo Huong Nam said that when moving towards cooperation in the field of microchips, the two sides have mutual trust at a higher level, proving that trust between the two countries is at a new height.

During his visit to the Netherlands late last year, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh visited the Brainport Technology Center (BIC) in Eindhoven city, where leading Dutch technology enterprises gather, and asked the Netherlands to support the construction of a brainport in Hanoi following the brainport model in Eindhoven and many other technology cooperation proposals.

Why can Vietnam and the Netherlands catch up so quickly with such a strong belief in exploring “new lands” in cooperation? Perhaps, because the two countries have done well, creating trust for each other in any field of cooperation over the past time, especially within the framework of the Strategic Partnership on Climate Change Adaptation and Water Management with many projects bringing “miracles” to the Mekong Delta or within the framework of the Strategic Partnership on Climate Change and Sustainable Agriculture with many medium- and long-term cooperation projects.

Currently, the Netherlands is Vietnam's second largest trading partner in Europe and the EU's largest investor in Vietnam. Bilateral trade in 2021 reached 8.37 billion USD, up nearly 10% compared to 2020; in 2022 it reached 11.1 billion USD, up 32.6% compared to 2021. The Netherlands is Vietnam's second largest export surplus market in 2022. The implementation of the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and Vietnam (EVFTA) from August 2020 has brought many great opportunities for Vietnamese and Dutch businesses to expand cooperation, resulting in many Vietnamese agricultural products successfully accessing the EU market with preferential tax rates.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh holds talks with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in The Hague, December 12, 2022. (Source: VNA)

The connecting bridge

Besides bilateral messages, Prime Minister Mark Rutte's visit to Vietnam this time carries important multilateral expectations.

According to Ambassador Ngo Huong Nam, the Netherlands is a pioneer in Europe in planning the Indo-Pacific Strategy with France and Germany. Recently, within the framework of the ASEAN Summit in Indonesia, the Netherlands was officially recognized as an ASEAN Development Partner, demonstrating the Netherlands' deep participation in cooperation with ASEAN, including Vietnam. On this occasion, the Netherlands also conducted many high-level visits to ASEAN countries.

Therefore, the Netherlands always hopes that Vietnam can become a bridge so that this European country can cooperate more strongly with ASEAN countries, closely connecting with the region.

In recent times, in multilateral and regional international forums, especially within the framework of the United Nations, ASEM, ASEAN-EU, Vietnam and the Netherlands have always given each other active support and cooperation. The two countries support each other's candidacy for UN agencies such as the Security Council, the Human Rights Council, and the Economic and Social Council.

The Netherlands supports Vietnam in promoting relations with the EU, sharing its stance on resolving disputes in the East Sea by international law. In return, Vietnam helps the Netherlands strengthen relations and access the ASEAN market more easily.

With so many good things, on this visit to Vietnam, the friend from the land of tulips is expected to bring many unexpected "gifts", highlighting the final strokes for a complete "circle" of half a decade and opening a turning point for the journey as brilliant as the flowers of your country ahead!

"Vietnam and the Netherlands have much in common. Both countries have economies based on international trade and investment, have large deltas, face serious water and climate change challenges, and both countries' agricultural sectors are export-oriented. As small countries, both have learned to promote the international rule of law and the multilateral system of relations," said Ambassador of the Netherlands to Vietnam Kees van Baar.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/manh-ghep-cho-vong-tron-tron-ven-248404.html