Vietnam and the Netherlands have agreed to promote cooperation in economics, trade, investment, development aid, water resource management, . . .

They shared the view that bilateral ties have fared well in recent times. The Netherlands is Vietnam’s second largest European investor and its third largest European trade partner with two-way trade last year reaching US$3 billion. All Dutch-funded projects have run at high efficiency, they said.

Mr Dung thanked the Dutch government and people for providing continued official development assistance (ODA) to Vietnam. He proposed that the Netherlands will send its experts on environmental protection and water resource management to come and assist Vietnam in this field, as it will be one of the countries most affected by climate change and rising sea levels.

He said he hopes that the Dutch government will help Vietnam effectively implement projects within a national programme to cope with the changing environment, especially in building sea dykes.

Mr Peter said he is looking forward to seeing Mr Dung in his nation’s capital Amsterdam one day, so that the two PMs will exchange views on bilateral cooperation in Dutch areas of strength, such as water resource management, the development of sea dykes, agriculture, maritime transport and addressing climate change.

He proposed that Vietnam send leaders of relevant ministries to the Netherlands to work out specific areas for cooperation.

Earlier, Mr Dung received Nepalese Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and Kuwaiti Prime Minister Nasser Al-Mohammad Al ahmad Al-sabah.

Mr Dung affirmed that Vietnam is ready to cooperate with Nepal in trade, agriculture, rural development, tourism and culture. He proposed that Nepal create conditions for Vietnamese businesses to export rice, rubber and coffee to the country.

PM Kumar expressed his desire to learn about Vietnam’s experiences in poverty reduction, hydro power and tourism development. He said he hopes Vietnam will open its Embassy in Nepal as soon as possible.

At another reception for the Kuwaiti PM, Mr Dung said that Vietnam wants to strengthen multifaceted cooperation with Kuwait, especially in economics, trade, investment, oil & gas and energy. He welcomed Kuwait’s decisions to invest in the Nghi Son oil refinery project in Thanh Hoa province and to consider investment in transport infrastructure projects in Vietnam.

He suggested that the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) and the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) sign a deal, laying a firm foundation for long-term cooperation in the field.

PM Al-sabah affirmed that Kuwait wants to increase cooperation in agriculture with Vietnam and that he will encourage Kuwaiti businesses to increase investment in the Southeast Asian country.

He said Kuwait will grant scholarships to Vietnamese students studying oil and gas and continue to recruit Vietnamese workers.

VietNamNet/VOV