Vietnam, Netherlands to deepen cooperation, elevate Comprehensive Partnership

Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung and his Dutch counterpart Rob Jetten discussed and agreed on new directions to deepen bilateral relations during their high-level phone talks on August 11.

The two leaders reviewed development steps in the bilateral ties, and reached consensus on orientations to effectively harness the two countries’ potential to elevate their Comprehensive Partnership to a higher level for the benefit of both nations, thereby contributing to peace, stability and sustainable development in the two regions and the world.

Congratulating the Netherlands on its achievements in socio-economic development and foreign affairs, PM Hung thanked the country for considering Vietnam as one of its leading strategic partners in the region under its new foreign policy. He affirmed that Vietnam attaches importance to and wants to further deepen its multifaceted cooperation with the Netherlands.

The two sides noted that amid rapid changes in the global and regional situation, which bring both new challenges and opportunities, there remains significant room and potential for complementary cooperation between Vietnam and the Netherlands.

The Netherlands has strengths in science and technology, innovation and developing high-tech industries, while Vietnam is entering a new era of development with new requirements and drivers for growth, science and technology, and innovation. These provide an important foundation for the two countries to expand cooperation, leverage their respective strengths and elevate the Vietnam-Netherlands Comprehensive Partnership to a new height.

PM Hung proposed further increasing high-level exchanges to strengthen political trust and work towards upgrading the bilateral ties, while continuing to coordinate and support each other at multilateral and international forums.

Highlighting the Netherlands as the EU largest investor and leading trade partner of Vietnam, the Vietnamese leader called for making economic, trade, investment and financial cooperation a key pillar of the bilateral ties, maximising the benefits of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), and prompting the Dutch parliament to ratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) soon. He also proposed connecting the two countries’ financial and securities markets and attracting international resources for developing Vietnam’s international financial centre and capital market.

PM Hung suggested more effectively implementing the two existing strategic partnerships on climate change response and water management (2010), and sustainable agriculture and food security (2014), while strengthening cooperation in green transition and digital transformation, and sustainable development; and making science, technology and innovation a new pillar of bilateral cooperation.

He also called for early finalising cooperation arrangements in science and technology, innovation and semiconductor technology, with a focus on research and development centres, high-quality human resources training and connecting Vietnamese businesses to the semiconductor supply chain of the Netherlands, particularly with ASML Group.

Regarding education and culture cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges, PM Hung suggested the Netherlands side provide more scholarships and expand opportunities for Vietnamese students to study fields such as AI, semiconductors, science and technology, and blue marine economy. He also called on the country to simplify visa procedures for Vietnamese visitors and support the Vietnamese community in the country.

PM Jetten, for his part, spoke highly of Vietnam’s ambitious development goals, particularly its target of maintaining double-digit GDP growth, describing this as a “huge opportunity” for expanding bilateral cooperation. He said the Netherlands wishes to become an important partner of Vietnam in the region, and stands ready to deepen and expand the ties, working towards upgrading the bilateral relations.

He expressed his desire to organise Dutch delegations to Vietnam to explore and expand cooperation opportunities, thus strengthening the Netherlands’ presence in the Vietnamese market and the region.

PM Jetten praised the Vietnamese community’s contributions to the Dutch society, and welcomed Vietnam’s visa exemption for Dutch tourists and Vietnam Airlines’ launch of direct flights between the two countries in June 2026, saying that these measures have contributed to facilitating travel, people-to-people exchanges and tourism cooperation between the two nations.

The Dutch PM affirmed the Netherlands’ strong commitment to accelerating the ratification of the EVIPA.

The two leaders also exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual concern, stressing the strategic importance of maintaining peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight in the region and the world in accordance with international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The first phone call between the Vietnamese and Dutch PMs concluded successfully, setting out new cooperation directions and opening up promising prospects for the Vietnam-Netherlands Comprehensive Partnership./.