A hi-tech mission will accompany Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte during his visit to Vietnam at the invitation of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, scheduled on November 1-2. 

Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte visits Damen Song Cam Shipyard in Haiphong, Vietnam in 2014. Photo: Nld

The news was shared by Kees van Baar, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Vietnam, ahead of the visit.

Philips, a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation specializing in health technology, and ASML, the world’s supplier in the semiconductor industry, are among the companies doing business in Vietnam to be part of the mission.

The companies will join the Dutch Prime Minister-led delegation to meet their partners like Samsung, LG, and Foxconn – the giant tech firms – and Research and Development Centers as part of their efforts to expand business after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dutch companies’ clients and suppliers are Japanese, South Korean, Taiwanese, and VinFast from Vietnam. The trip to VinFast is also included in the schedule to see how quickly Vietnam can set up an industry, which many people are amazed at.

There will be a High-tech Business Forum where Dutch companies will meet with Vietnamese investment agents and hi-tech entrepreneurs in a panel discussion. The move aims to underline what they already do in Vietnam, produce for the Vietnamese market and exports.

So far, a number of the Netherlands’ companies are doing well in Vietnam, such as Heineken with six breweries operating in the country since 1991, FrieslandCampina Vietnam Food and Beverage which is famous for its dairy brand Dutch Lady, doing business in the Southeast Asian country since 1995, in addition to animal feed firms and companies work on water.

Apart from the business forum and site visits, Ambassador Kees van Baar said Mark Rutte will address the green economy together with the Vice President of the European Commission, who is expected to arrive in Vietnam these days.

Ambassador of the Netherlands to Vietnam Kees van Baar. Photo: Minh Nguyen/The Hanoi Times

Among the main fields of the 50-year diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the Netherlands is cooperation in agriculture and climate change, Ambassador Kees van Baar shared with The Hanoi Times.

Over the past decades, Dutch experts have been in Vietnam under government programs to support the country in agriculture, aquaculture, climate mitigation and adaption, mainly in the Mekong Delta.

Regarding the traditional cooperation in the aforementioned fields, Ambassador Kees van Baar highlighted people-to-people exchanges over the years thanks to efforts by the governments, non-governmental organizations, and experts to work together for the sake of beneficiaries.

Given similarities in geography, the two countries are coping with salinization, sea level rise, coastal erosion, and sinking land. The Netherlands, with its experience, has provided natural solutions and conducted research together, especially to protect the land.

Specifically, the methods include restoring mangroves, choosing suitable crops out of rice like aquaculture or a combination of rice and fruits – one rice season and another, and shifting to fruits to get more food and more products.

To make agriculture more resilient and sustainable, the Netherlands institutes and universities have offered expertise on coastal protection, and hi-tech agriculture while supporting the building of proper seaports and businesses working on water and agriculture.

Regarding Mark Rutte’s visit, the schedules would include meetings with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong, and a reception with Dutch, international, and Vietnamese business representatives.

The “International Law and Order at Sea” roundtable conference will be added to the list, in addition to the “College tour” meeting with Hanoi-Amsterdam students; Mural wall painting with students; Cycling and meeting with some Vietnamese women entrepreneurs of the Dutch Business Association in Vietnam; and Exhibition “Mapping the dragon: Vietnam through the eyes of Dutch mapmakers.”

During the visit, some request for visa is likely made to have the same policies for people from Norway, Denmark, the UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain.