Vietnam, Netherlands promote further cooperation in sustainable development: Agriculture plays a pivotal role in the economies of Vietnam and the Netherlands and is deeply imprinted in the culture and people of the two countries. (Photo:nongnghiep.vn)

Agriculture plays a pivotal role in the economies of Vietnam and the Netherlands and is deeply imprinted in the culture and people of the two countries, the diplomat told Dau tu (Vietnam Investment Review).

According to him, close cooperation between the two sides has resulted in new visions, as well as the blooming of business cooperation, with a growing number of Dutch companies doing business and investing in Vietnam.

The Netherlands is the largest European investor in Vietnam. Dutch businesses, with their investments and their innovative and sustainable operations, actively contribute to Vietnam’s progress, he said.

“But even more significant, Vietnamese companies setting up businesses in the Netherlands as well,” he said.

Regarding the two countries’ cooperation in green trade, Kees van Baar said that both Vietnam and the Netherlands are delta countries and therefore vulnerable to rising sea levels resulting from climate change.

The countries also share the same ambition to become climate neutral in 2050 by reducing their greenhouse gas emissions.

Currently, the EU is developing and implementing new rules and regulations to support its climate ambitions, like the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive.

These new mechanisms will become effective in the coming years and will modernise and strengthen the rules for imports to the EU markets regarding environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria, he said.

For companies exporting from Vietnam to the EU or being in the supply chain of an EU company, this means that there will be strong incentives to invest in ESG reporting to enjoy low tariffs and easy access to EU markets, he added.

Therefore, the Netherlands invests in ESG capacity building for Vietnamese companies. In the framework of the GEFE 2022 event in Ho Chi Minh City, the embassy offered workshops and will continue to do so in the context of the ‘Ready to Export’ programme, which is being implemented by the Dutch Business Association in Vietnam together with Vietrade.

Regarding the two countries’ hi-tech cooperation, the Ambassador said that the Netherlands is a small country in terms of area, but it is the 15th largest economy in the world.

The Netherlands has a rich history of entrepreneurial innovation with world-famous inventions, ranging from microscopes and telescopes to CDs and DVDs, as well as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

During his visit to the Netherlands last December, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh visited the world-leading production and knowledge economy of the province of North Brabant and the Brainport region in and around the city of Eindhoven.

In response to PM Chinh’s wish to strengthen the bilateral cooperation in innovation and creativity, the Netherlands is ready to share with Vietnam the knowledge and experience of our transition from a traditional agricultural and manufacturing industry into a world-leading high-tech hotspot, the Ambassador said.

“We plan to organise in 2023 a mission of Dutch businesses, knowledge institutes, and other stakeholders from the Dutch innovation ecosystem to Vietnam to exchange ideas and discuss cooperation possibilities,” he said.