Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan (fourth from left) and Dutch delegates

She made the statement during a reception hosted by Politburo member and Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan on April 11.

Nieuwenhuizen said the European country holds strengths in technology and is willing to help Ho Chi Minh City deal with challenges in water and waste treatment, as well as flood control.

The Netherlands wants to reinforce collaboration in education, personnel training, and connectivity between Dutch and Ho Chi Minh City universities, she added.

Nhan, for his part, said the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the public-private partnership (PPP) initiative for sustainable flooding prevention between the municipal authorities and the Netherlands will lay the foundation to launch effective and practical projects in the near future.

Apart from traditional cooperation areas such as flooding control and climate change adaptation or water treatment, both sides hold potential to coordinate in fields that the Netherlands has strengths in and Ho Chi Minh City has demand for, such as smart urban development, artificial intelligence, high-tech zones, and personnel training, he said.

Earlier the same day, the guest minister met leaders of the municipal People’s Committee and witnessed the signing of the MoU on PPP initiatives for sustainable flooding prevention in the city.

Two-way trade between Ho Chi Minh City and the Netherlands hit 1.5 billion USD in 2018. The European nation invested in 135 projects worth 1.8 billion USD, ranking eighth among 105 countries and territories investing in the city.

Netherlands boosts cooperation with HCM City

At the signing ceremony of agreements and contracts between Vietnamese and Dutch businesses

The Netherlands highly appreciates the cooperation potential with the southern economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City and other Vietnamese localities, visiting Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management Cora van Nieuwenhuizen said at a press conference in the city on April 11.

She added that the Netherlands is willing to explore business cooperation opportunities in the city.

The minister said she had working sessions with local authorities to discuss bilateral cooperation in various fields, and attended Water Business Dialogues underlining challenges in controlling floods, land subsidence and clean water.

She and State Secretary for Finance Menno Snel made a fact-finding tour to study the water management on the Saigon river as well as met with local businesses to discuss sustainable economic development in Vietnam.

The guests also visited Orange ASEAN Factory, a sustainability consultancy programme for young experts and businesspeople of the Netherlands and ASEAN.

After the press conference, the Dutch Minister witnessed the signing of over 10 agreements and contracts between businesses in wind energy development, clean water treatment, plastic recycling plant construction, and agriculture.

She also witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on public-private cooperation initiative for sustainable flood prevention in the city between the Dutch Consulate General and the municipal Department of Construction.

VNA