Amsterdam is looking to expand its cooperation with Hanoi in energy transition, waste treatment, environmental protection, smart urban planning, and sustainable development.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Amsterdam's Mayor Femke Halsema. Source: VNA

The city’s Mayor, Femke Halsema, said during a meeting with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on December 11, stressing the visit of the Vietnamese Prime Minister to the Netherlands would open up a new phase in cooperation between the two countries and among the provinces and municipalities.

Halsema said Amsterdam and Hanoi had been engaged in positive cooperation over the years, but there remains huge potential for the two to continue promoting ties in all spheres.

He noted the challenges of climate change and sea level rise faced by Vietnamese provinces and cities in the Mekong River Delta and said the Netherlands capital is willing to share its experience with Vietnam to cope with the phenomenon and help the country in the process.

She revealed her plan to visit Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in the coming time to map out specific plans for cooperation.

At the meeting, Prime Minister Chinh said Vietnam and the Netherlands had built strong ties over the year. This time, his visit to the country is aimed at further taking relations to a new height amid the upcoming 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2023.

Chinh also highlighted the positive progress in cooperation between Hanoi and Amsterdam, referring to the Hanoi-Amsterdam High School for the Gifted as a symbol of relations between the two cities.

In the coming time, Chinh called for provinces and cities of the two countries to set up an effective cooperation mechanism to ensure the sustainability of the relations for mutual benefits.

The Prime Minister is currently on a week-long trip to Benelux, an economic union comprising three neighboring countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, from December 9-16 to boost Vietnam’s international cooperation and attend the ASEAN-EU Summit on the 45^th anniversary of the ASEAN-EU relations in Brussels on December 14.