Hanoi (VNA) – Chairwoman of the National Assembly of Vietnam Nguyen Thi KimNgan is paying an official visit to the Netherlands from March 26-28 at theinvitation of the Speaker of the Dutch House of Representatives KhadijaArib.

As thefirst visit of a Vietnamese NA leader to the country, the trip aims toconsolidate the friendship and multi-faceted cooperation with the Netherlandsamid the celebration of the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations (April 9).It will mark a new milestone in the friendship and cooperation between the twoParliaments.

Thetwo sides will exchange information and experience in each country'sparliamentary activities and areas of interest; promote cooperation inmulti-lateral parliamentary forums to which the two parliaments are members,such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and the Asia- Europe ParliamentaryPartnership.

Overthe past 45 years, the Vietnam – Netherlands relations have grown fruitfully inall fields and been further deepened. Mutual understanding and trust have been strengthenedvia high-level visits and cooperation mechanisms.

It canbe said that the Vietnam – Netherlands relationship is now an example of the dynamicand effective ties between Vietnam and a European country.

The Netherlands has for years considered Vietnam its priority partner, adoptingnumerous policies to boost bilateral cooperation.

The countriesare strategic partners in climate change adaptation - water management and sustainableagriculture - food security. Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi capital, BinhDuong, Vinh Long, An Giang, Dong Thap provinces have cooperated with Dutch localities,focusing on climate change adaptation and impact mitigation, green urbansolutions; solid waste-to-energy measures, general and space planning, and floodrisk management related to the Hong (Red) River area.

Thetwo sides have cooperated in overall city planning, urban management,infrastructure development, transport and public transport vehicles, and smarttransportation.

Overthe past years, the two sides have promoted practical and effectivecooperation, with priorities given to key areas such as trade - investment,strategic partnerships, logistic services, seaports, oil and gas, shipbuilding;committed to accelerate the early ratification of the Vietnam - EU Free TradeAgreement (EVFTA).

Thetwo sides have identified five priority cooperation areas, namely climatechange adaptation, water management, agriculture, energy, marine economy andlogistics services.

Cooperation between the two countries in the fields of education - training,security - defense, transport, maritime, and customs have fared well.

Shortlyafter the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1973, the Netherlands beganproviding non-refundable assistance for Vietnam, mainly in the humanitarian,education - training and health care fields.

Tertiaryeducation also plays an important role in the Vietnam - Netherlands bilateralcooperation. Since mid 1970, the country has provided numerous scholarships forVietnam. It earmarked more than 10 million EUR to strengthen Vietnam’s post-highschool education through its Initiative for Capacity developmentin Higher Education (NICHE). The program focuses on the sectors ofkey Dutch expertise such as agriculture, integrated water resources management,climate change, and vocational education. Many Vietnamese universities andresearch institutes have established close cooperative ties with Dutch partners.

Overseas Vietnamese students in the Netherlands mainly pursue majors of economics,business administration, engineering and technology.

In the field of transport, the two sides have cooperatedin waterways and airlines, and eyed on opening direct flight routes, sharingexperience and capacity building for the transport sector, as well as promote theirenterprises’ connection.

Vietnam has been implementing the NationalStrategy for Marine Economic Development, with maritime, shipbuilding andlogistics playing an important role. Meanwhile, the Netherlands has richexperience in these fields, therefore, the two nations share a huge cooperationpotential cooperation.

The two countries have reached initial cooperationin customs, building search and rescue ships, and training cooperationagreements with Vietnam Maritime University, Ho Chi Minh City University ofTransport, and on seaport research.

Thetwo-way trade between Vietnam and the Netherlands has been growing steadily,with Vietnam having always enjoyed a trade surplus. Trade and investmentcooperation between the two countries have also seen growth. The Netherlands iscurrently Vietnam’s largest export market in the EU.

By theend of 2017, the trade values between the two nations exceeded 7.77 billionUSD. Vietnam mainly exports aquatic products, vegetables and fruits, cashewnuts, coffee, pepper, rice, chemical products, and plastics. The countrymajorly imports machinery, equipment, spare parts, auto parts, milk and dairyproducts, and pharmaceuticals from the Netherlands.

TheNetherlands ranked 11th out of 126 countries and territories investing inVietnam, with a total registered capital of 8.17 billion USD, becoming thebiggest among EU investors in Vietnam.

Itsnotable projects are Mong Duong Power Plant, Phu My Power Plant, PepsicoVietnam Company, and its capital investment per project averages about 27.1million USD, doubling that of a foreign investment project in the country.-VNA