The Prince of Orange and Princess Máxima of the Netherlands, accompanied by more than 100 business people, will pay an official visit to Vietnam from March 28 to 31.

The delegation includes the Dutch Minister for Agriculture and Foreign Trade Henk Bleker, the Dutch State Secretary for Infrastructure and the Environment Joop Atsma and top-level Dutch water experts.

The goal of the visit is to strengthen ties in business and foster knowledge exchange and government-to-government cooperation in various fields.

The economic mission focuses on five sectors: water, agriculture, transport and logistics, the maritime sector and oil and gas. The strategic partnership between Vietnam and the Netherlands will also be promoted in the areas of water management and climate-change adaptation.

Netherlands Ambassador to Vietnam, Joop Scheffers, said “For the Netherlands, Vietnam is not only a promising and attractive emerging market, but also a highly competitive one.”

“Both sides have been looking for areas of strong mutual interest. It is no coincidence that these five sectors are very much the focus of this large economic mission to Vietnam; these are the areas where the Dutch can offer real added value to Vietnam,” he stated.

“Vietnam has set itself the objective of evolving into an industrialised economy by the year 2020. Turning this high ambition into reality will require a great deal of investment, expertise and cooperation in various sectors of the economy. Dutch investors and companies are ready to assist Vietnam in addressing the many challenges ahead,” said Ambassador Scheffers.

The Netherlands is already the single largest EU investor in Vietnam. Business cooperation between the Netherlands and Vietnam is constantly developing, shown by the large number of signings that will take place during the visit. More than 20 agreements are expected to be signed and sealed during this visit.

The whole delegation will visit both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. During their visit, the Dutch guests will meet with Vietnamese government officials, take part in seminars and visit companies.