HCM City (VNA) – The Dutch Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City helda ceremony on April 26 to mark the birthday of Dutch King Willem Alexander(King’s Day April 27) and the 45th anniversary of the two countries’diplomatic ties (April 9).
Speaking at the event, Vice Chairman of the municipalPeople’s Committee Huynh Cach Mang expressed his delight at the strongdevelopment of bilateral relations across the fields, especially in theexchange of high-level delegations and cooperation in water management, climatechange adaptation, culture, education and tourism.
Speaking highly of the role of the Consulate General inboosting collaboration between Ho Chi Minh City and the Netherlands, Mangaffirmed that the city is willing to create the most favourable conditions forthe Consulate General to carry out diplomatic events and cooperative activitiesin order to tighten the friendship and mutual understanding between the twopeoples.
Consul General Carel Richter stressed that the Netherlandsmaintains its position among the largest foreign investors in Vietnam andbiggest European trade partners of the country.
The bilateral partnership has flourished over the past 45years, particularly in water management and climate change response, he stated.
He confirmed that the Netherlands wants to help Ho Chi MinhCity cope with flood challenges and further promote cooperation in agriculture,education and tourism.
The country is also willing to implement a programme toincrease the capacity of the State and private sectors in Ho Chi Minh City,Hanoi, and the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho.
Last year, trade between HCM City and the Netherlands hit1.2 billion USD. The Netherlands is now running 132 investment projects inVietnam’s southern economic hub with a total capital of nearly 1.9 billion USD,ranking eighth out of the 95 countries and territories pouring capital into thecity. Many Dutch-funded projects on the environment and agriculture are beingcarried out in Ho Chi Minh City.-VNA