The governments of Vietnam and the Netherlands need to continue removing barriers to help businesses boost trade cooperation, said Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte at a meeting with Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue in Hanoi on Tuesday.
The meeting was part of Prime Minister Rutte’s working visit to Vietnam, with the participation of CEOs from 70 leading enterprises from the Netherlands and Vietnam.
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 cooperation, trade and investment between the two countries would grow.
The prime minister 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.
‘International integration’
The Netherlands is currently the largest European investor in Vietnam with total registered capital of more than $9.5 billion, with well-known corporations such as Heineken, Unilever and Shell.
Last year, bilateral turnover reached more than $7.84 billion, accounting for 1.6 per cent of Vietnam’s total import-export turnover and nearly 14.6 per cent of the total import-export turnover of Vietnam with EU countries.
Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Hue said Vietnam had set a rapid and sustainable growth target for the next five years.
Hue said Vietnam will 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 improve the quality of human resources.”
Hue said when the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) was signed and took effect, it will create new opportunities for Dutch businesses to invest in the country. He expected the Dutch government to support the signing of the agreement.
He said Vietnam 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,” Hue said.
At the meeting, CEOs of Dutch enterprises expressed their willingness to cooperate and invest in the interests of both sides and in accordance with the development goals of Vietnam. VIET NAM NEWS/ANN