On September 10, 2021, Ambassador Elsbeth Akkerman paid a courtesy call on her host Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and announced a Netherland public – private donation worth VND 43 billion of medical equipment to support Vietnam combat Covid19.
In the meeting, PM Chinh affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to the friendship and comprehensive partnership with the Netherlands and wished to strengthen the cooperation with the Netherlands in the fields of climate adaptation, sustainable agriculture and water management. Prime Minister Chinh expressed the wish to further develop cooperation between the two countries in the field of logistics, in particular (air) port development.
The Prime Minister expressed his pleasure that despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the bilateral trade turnover between Vietnam and the Netherlands reached US$4.9 billion, an increase of 15% compared to the same period last year. The Netherlands is currently Vietnam’s second largest EU trading partner and plays the role as an important gateway and transshipment center, where nearly 60% of Vietnam’s goods are passing via the port of Rotterdam.
Ambassador Akkerman reiterated that the Netherlands would continue its close cooperation with different stakeholders in Vietnam. ‘The relationship between two governments and their business communities continues to develop effectively for the sake of the economy, people and planet,’ said the Ambassador. She also expressed her appreciation to the Vietnamese government for its supports to foreign businesses, including Dutch enterprises in Vietnam. The Netherlands is currently the largest EU investor in Vietnam with a total of 10 billion USD of investment capital. The number of Dutch companies in Vietnam continues to grow. The Dutch business community was represented in the delegation by a board member of the Dutch Business Association in Vietnam (DBAV).
