NA leader"s first visit to Netherlands builds ties of broader cooperation

NA Chairwoman Ngan (R) received Queen Maxima of the Netherlands in Vietnam in 2017

A high-ranking Vietnamese National Assembly (NA) delegation, led by its Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, began a four-day visit to the Netherlands on March 26, at the invitation of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Khadija Arib.

The top Vietnamese legislator’s first official visit to the Netherlands takes place to coincide with the two countries’ celebration of the 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties, representing a new landmark in reinforcing their friendly relations and the multifaceted cooperation between the Vietnamese NA and the States General of the Netherlands.

Bilateral relations have seen positive developments across all fields over recent years, especially within the framework of the Strategic Partnership Arrangement on Climate Change Adaptation and Water Management and the Strategic Partnership Arrangement on Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security.

The two sides have agreed to step up their practical and effective cooperation, giving priority to some key fields such as trade-investment, strategic partnerships, logistics, seaports, oil and gas, and shipbuilding.

Built on the achievements made during Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s visit to the Netherlands in July 2017, the two countries consented to upgrade bilateral relations to a strategic partnership in the near future.

Cooperation on trade and investment between the two countries has been on an upward trend with import-export value between both sides having reached more than US$7.77 billion last year.

Especially, the Netherlands has grown to become Vietnam’s largest export market in the EU. The Netherlands ranks first among European investors, and 11th out of 126th countries and territories investing in Vietnam with a total registered capital of US$8.17 billion.

The average investment level of each Dutch project averages around US$27.1 million, double the average level compared to a foreign direct investment (FDI) project in Vietnam.

Through the visit of the NA Chairwoman and her high-ranking delegation to the European nation, Vietnam hopes the States of General of the Netherlands will support a swift signing and approval of the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

At bilateral meetings, the NA chairwoman Ngan will brief her Dutch hosts on Vietnam’s socio-economic affairs and foreign policy, the investment environment, and the Vietnam NA’s activities. Both sides will review bilateral cooperation in economics, trade, investment, climate change adaptation, water management, agriculture, energy, seaports, and logistics, as well as discussing measures to bolster bilateral ties towards the establishment of a strategic partnership.

Although parliamentary cooperation between Vietnam and the Netherlands has been maintained over the past years, their exchange visits are still infrequent.

Therefore, the Vietnamese NA leader’s visit is seen as a good opportunity for both sides to exchange information and experiences in parliamentary performance in each country, discuss issues of shared concern, and promote cooperation at multilateral parliamentary forums of which the two countries are members such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly and the Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership (ASEP).