Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese Minister of Industry andTrade Tran Tuan Anh and the Netherlands’ Minister for Foreign Trade andDevelopment Cooperation Sigrid Kaag engaged in a phone talk on September 1 to discuss ways to boost bilateralcooperation between the two sides.

Kaag affirmed that Vietnamis an important partner of the Netherlands, and expressed her good impression ofachievements Vietnam has gained in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic overthe recent past.

She noted that theNetherlands is the second biggest market of Vietnam’s exports in the EU, andalso the largest European investor in the Southeast Asian country.

The minister urged that the two sides carry out more activities inthe time ahead in order to enhance their trade ties and deal with economicconsequences of the pandemic.

Kaag informed that there will be an array of virtual trademissions hosted by the Dutch embassies in some ASEAN countries, including Vietnam,in October and November, and invited the Vietnamese Minister of Industry andTrade to attend the launching ceremony for these activities.

Regarding the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA),the Dutch minister said due to COVID-19, the approval of the deal has yet to beincluded in the agenda of the Dutch Parliament.

Therefore, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Development will workfor the agreement to be early included in the working agenda of the parliament,she pledged.

The minister also lauded the Vietnamese government’s efforts in implementingthe chapter on sustainable development progamme in the EU-Vietnam Free TradeAgreement (EVFTA), saying the Netherlands stands ready to provide technicalassistance for Vietnam in this regard.

The Netherland also wishes to step up cooperation with Vietnam in promotinga circular economy and low-carbon production, towards sustainable development, andclean and renewable energy, she stressed.

For his part, Minister Anh spoke highly of the close collaborationbetween Vietnam and the Netherlands across spheres, including trade, renewableenergy, low-carbon production, and trade promotion, and suggested the two sidestake more concrete, efficient steps in the existing cooperation areas.

He thanked the Dutch government for their support during thenegotiation and ratification of the EVFTA and EVIPA, expressing his hope thatthe two countries will beef up their cooperation in the enforcement of the twodeals.

Both ministers backed the idea on holding a virtual seminar on theagreements, and investment and trade ties between Vietnam and the Netherlands,which is expected to gather about 12-13 CEOs from major Dutch industrial groupslike Shell, Philips and Friesland Campia, and Vietnamese enterprises.

This would be an opportunity for Dutch firms to learn more aboutthe investment environment in Vietnam, while offering cooperation opportunitiesfor businesses of the two countries, they said.

As for the circular economy, Tuan Anh praised the joint efforts inestablishing a close cooperation framework with documents signed at differentlevels, from businesses to state management agencies.

The minister said he hopes for an action plan with specificactivities in order to advance the partnership in this regard.

Statistics of the Ministry of Industry and Trade show that tradebetween Vietnam and the Netherlands reached nearly 7.6 billion USD last year,with Vietnam’s exports to the European country hitting 6.9 billion USD and itsimports, 661 million USD.

In the first seven months of this year, Vietnam exported more than3.83 billion USD worth of goods to the Netherlands, up 0.46 percentyear-on-year, even when Vietnam’s total export revenue to the EU dropped 5.96percent in the period./.