Vietnam and the Netherlands: Creating a sustainable future together

Agriculture plays an important role in the trade relation between the two countries, accounting for 20 per cent of total trade values every year. While the Netherlands is among world top exporters of agricultural products with outstanding expertise, Vietnam has a fast growing agriculture with a long history of practice. The ecological conditions of Vietnam allow for a diverse agricultural economy, from crop production, horticulture, aquaculture, fisheries, to livestock breeding.

However, to utilise this favourable trait and become an internationally recognised producer, Vietnam will need a great deal of investment and cooperation. The Netherlands, on the other hand, has long mastered this area and is keen to play a role and partner with Vietnam to achieve this goal, keeping in mind the Sustainable Development Goals as guidelines.

Even though the Netherlands is a small country, it is feeding a big world being the second largest exporter of food-crop products in the world. The companies that together make up the Dutch horticultural and starting materials industry are as varied as they are dynamic, from bulb producers to tree nursery and seed refiners.

The Netherlands is also the second largest exporter of agri-food products in the world. A well-equipped and highly effective knowledge infrastructure that meets the requirements of today’s knowledge-intensive agri-food sector is available, enabling the sustainable and efficient production of high quality, healthy and tasty foods. The agri-food sector is one of the major drivers of the Dutch economy with a contribution of 52.3 billion euros added value to Dutch GDP which provides work and income for more than 660,000 people.

The Vietnamese and the Dutch have been getting on very well with each other, regarding each other as reliable long-term business partners who bring something really worthwhile to the table. As such, when we share the vision of a sustainable future where the economy thrives and the environment is well-maintained, we can continue working collectively as one and continue marking many other milestones in our partnership.

Let’s get to work Building a food secure future The ASEAN+6 conference “Let’s get to work. Building a food secure future” will be held in Hanoi on March 22 and 23, 2017, hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam, together with the Ministry of Economic Affairs of the Netherlands.

Future belongs to sustainable food When it comes to sustainable food, the Netherlands possesses world class expertise.