Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands Khadija Arib (R) welcomed NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan in The Hague on March 27 (Photo: VNA)The Hague (VNA) – Chairwoman of theNational Assembly (NA) of Vietnam Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan held talks with Speaker ofthe House of Representatives of the Netherlands Khadija Arib in The Hague onMarch 27 morning (local time).
At the talks following the welcome ceremonyhosted by Arib, Chairwoman Ngan said this is the first visit by a leader of theVietnamese parliament to the Netherlands, and it is made amid the 45th foundinganniversary of the countries’ diplomatic ties and their efforts to liftbilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
She expressed her hope that this visit willintensify the friendship and cooperation between the two countries in general,and between the Vietnamese and Dutch parliaments in particular, thus opening upnew cooperation prospects in bilateral ties and between Vietnam, ASEAN and theEuropean Union (EU).
The two legislators noted with satisfaction thedevelopment of their countries’ friendship and cooperation in all aspects aswell as their increasingly reinforced political trust. The StrategicPartnership on Climate Change Adaptation and Water Management, formed in 2010,and the Strategic Partnership on Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security,formed in 2014, are effective cooperation models, which have helped capitaliseon the strengths of the Netherlands and promote sustainable development inVietnam.
Chairwoman Ngan informed her host aboutVietnam’s socio-economic situation and congratulated the Netherlands on servingas a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2018. She voiced herhope that with their sound cooperation at multilateral mechanisms, especiallybetween the Vietnamese and Dutch missions to the UN, the two sides willcontinue successfully cooperating at the UN Security Council, thus contributingto regional and global peace, prosperity and stability.
She underlined that maintaining peace,stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation is thecommon interest of the international community, including the Netherlands. Shecalled on the country to support the peaceful settlement of East Sea disputesand the serious adherence to and enforcement of international law, especiallythe 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Declaration on the Conductof Parties in the East Sea.
Speaker of the Dutch lower house Khadija Aribagreed with her guest’s opinions, noting that the two countries share manysimilarities and boast huge potential for stronger cooperation in the timeahead.
Discussing bilateral cooperation in certainfields, the leaders expressed their delight at the outcomes in their countries’economic, trade and investment ties. The Netherlands is currently the biggestexport market of Vietnam in the EU. In 2017, bilateral trade exceeded 7.77billion USD.
Chairwoman Ngan highly valued many effectiveinvestment projects of major Dutch businesses in Vietnam such as Heineken(beer), Unilever (detergents, cosmetics), Royal Dutch Shell (oil and gasexploitation and distribution), Foremost (milk), Akzo Nobel Coatings(pharmaceutical chemistry), and Philips (electronics). With 305 projects worthnearly 8.2 billion USD, the Netherlands now ranks 11th among the 126 countriesand territories investing in Vietnam.
She also thanked the Dutch parliament forratifying the EU-Vietnam Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Partnershipand Cooperation. Recently, Vietnams and the EU agreed to separate theEU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) into two agreements, namely theagreement on trade in goods and the agreement on investment.
She asked the Dutch parliament to promote thesigning and ratification of those agreements, voicing her belief that once theEVFTA takes effect, it will create a legal framework for bilateral trade andinvestment to make breakthroughs.
[Infographics: Vietnam-Netherlands relationship:Example of dynamic and effective ties]
Regarding cooperation in environment andagriculture, the Vietnamese leader said the Vietnamese Party and Stateappreciate the Netherlands’ assistance within the framework of the StrategicPartnership on Climate Change Adaptation and Water Management, especially inbuilding the Mekong Delta Plan which gives a long-term vision andrecommendations for the sustainable development of this region amid heavyimpacts of climate change.
She also applauded cooperation projects betweenthe Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the DutchMinistry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy. She asked the EU nation tocontinue supporting Vietnam to carry out projects on enhancing the capacity ofintegrated water resources management, building pilot water supply models inareas with limited access to water, and making water resources planning in theMekong Delta.
Regardingculture and tourism, the leaders agreed that the two sides will considerstrengthening cooperation with other partners in protecting and promoting thevalues of cultural heritage so as to increase exchanges, cooperation and thesharing of professional experience.
The twosides will boost cooperation in researching museology, restoring masterpiecesof arts, researching the preservation of relic sites, and promoting of thecommunity’s role in protecting and promoting the values of cultural heritage.
TheVietnamese leader said a lot of potential in bilateral cooperation in tourismremain untapped, suggesting the Netherlands sign a bilateral tourismcooperation agreement as a legal foundation for the formation and deployment ofspecific programmes and cooperative activities in tourism between the two countries.
On security-defence ties, Ngan wished that the Netherlands would continuesupporting and sharing with Vietnam its experience in joining in UNpeacekeeping missions and establishing the Peacekeeping Centre.
At theirtalks, the leaders reached a consensus that the cooperation between theNational Assembly of Vietnam and the House of Representatives the Netherlandshas unceasingly been growing.
The two sides have maintained the exchanges of all-level visits, sharedexperience in parliamentary activities, while conducting meetings, coordinatingand supporting each other at multilateral parliamentary forums.
Theleaders agreed to continue exchange high-level visits, as well as visits atother levels, to promote mutual understanding and trust, making the activity asa foundation for the law-making bodies to expand their ties practically andefficiently in all fields.
Theyagreed to continue making the best use of the consultation mechanism, workingclosely at multilateral forums like IPU and ASEP, and coordinating inmonitoring the implementation of cooperation agreements signed by the twogovernments, and exchanging information about activities of each parliament.
NAChairwoman Ngan and Speaker of the House of Representatives Khadija Arib agreedto consider the establishment of a parliamentary friendship group which willserve as a platform for the two countries’ legislators to cooperate.
The Speaker showed her special interests in the role of women in the politicallife in Vietnam, especially the female legislators’ contributions to the NA.
Ngantook the occasion to thank the Netherlands for having created favourableconditions for the Vietnamese community there, suggesting the Speaker of theHouse of Representatives and the parliament continue helping them integrateinto the host society and contribute to its socio-economic development, andpromote wide-ranging cooperation between the two countries.
She invited the Speaker to visit Vietnam in the coming time and the host leaderaccepted the invitation with pleasure.-VNA
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