Acting President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh (R) and Ambassador of the Netherlands Elsbeth Akkerman (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Acting President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh hosted separate receptions forambassadors of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Denmark who came to present herwith their letters of credence on October 16.
In her meeting withElsbeth Akkerman, the new Dutch Ambassador to Vietnam, Thinh said Vietnamtreasures the support Dutch people have provided for the Asian country. Shespecifically referred to the Dutch doctors who founded the Medical CommitteeNetherlands-Vietnam (MCNV) to provide aid to Vietnam during wartime and whohave continued to offer medical help to disadvantaged areas to this day.
The Order ofFriendship awarded by the State of Vietnam to the MCNV demonstrated Vietnam’sappreciation towards its humanitarian efforts to improve people’s health,reduce poverty, and sustainably develop the country, she said.
The Acting Presidentalso spoke highly of the remarkable progress in Vietnam-the Netherlandsrelations in all fields, including strengthened political trust, adding thatthe two countries are now important economic, trade, and investment partners ofeach other.
She suggested the twosides coordinate more closely and effectively to deepen their strategic partnershipand further step up cooperation in sustainable development. She also expressed hopethat the Netherlands will support the early signing and ratification of theEU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).
Akkerman, for herpart, thanked the State of Vietnam for the Order of Friendship presented to theMCNV. The Netherlands and Vietnam share common interest in developingagriculture, water management, and sustainable development which would be idealareas for further cooperation between the two countries in the time ahead.
Acting President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh (R) and Ambassador of Belgium Paul Jansen (Photo: VNA) Welcoming new BelgianAmbassador Paul Jansen, the Acting President affirmed that Vietnam attachesimportance to bolstering its partnership with Belgium and that there is plentyof room to further advance cooperation between the two countries. She askedJansen to closely work with Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and otheragencies to increase high-level visit exchanges between the two sides duringhis mission in the country.
Thinh also hailed theeffective cooperation between Vietnam and Belgium at multilateral andinternational forums, for example, the United Nations, the InternationalOrganisation of La Francophonie, the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), and ASEAN. Shecongratulated Belgium on its being elected as a non-permanent member of the UNSecurity Council for the 2019-2020 tenure and asked that Belgium will supportVietnam’s candidacy for the post during the 2020-2021 term.
She expressed herdelight at the development of the two nations’ economic, trade, and investmentrelations, noting that Vietnam has been making all possible efforts to enhance thelocal business climate and accelerate economic restructuring towardssustainable growth and the reform of State-owned enterprises.
She conveyed her hopesfor Belgium to facilitate businesses from the two sides to meet and seekpartnership in the areas of agriculture, sea port, logistics, renewable energy,mining, and others, especially given that the conclusion of the EVFTA will setup appropriate conditions for their firms to expand business.
The Belgian Ambassadorlauded the bilateral collaboration in economics, education, and development inrecent years and affirmed his country’s support for Vietnam’s candidacy to theUN Security Council.
Talking to newly-appointedDanish Ambassador Kim Hojlund Christensen, the Vietnamese leader said she was pleasedto see the significant steps Vietnam and Denmark have made in cooperation acrossall fields, especially since the two countries set up a strategic partnershipin climate change, energy, environmental protection, and green growth in 2011and lifted it to the level of comprehensive partnership in 2013.
She looked forward tothe continued implementation of the Danish Growth Strategy for Vietnam and newopportunities that would be created for the two sides’ business societies whenthe EVFTA is signed.
Christensen said theestablishment of the Vietnam-Denmark Comprehensive Partnership in 2013 issignificant to both sides as they have shifted to cooperation in multiple areas,such as politics, investment, energy, education, agriculture, and healthcare.
Vietnam has remained apriority partner to Denmark in development cooperation and the European countrywill continue providing support for Vietnam in agriculture, education, energy,healthcare, and climate change response. –VNA
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