73rd NationalDay Celebration
By Roy Lie Atjam.
The Hague, 20 September 2018, with a reception the Embassy of Vietnam celebrated the 73rd anniversary of the National Day in the garden of the Chancellery on Javastraat.
H.E. Ambassador Ngo Thi Hoa delivered her welcoming speech, followed by cultural performances featuring the Vietnamese traditional musician Ngo Hong Quang. He studied in Vietnam and at the Royal Academy of Music in The Hague. Furthermore, guests were offered an array of Vietnamese culinary specialities.
For additional Naldo Peverelli’s pictures, please open the link below: https://www.flickr.com/photos/109407424@N02/albums/72157699351432162
In her welcoming remarks Ambassador Ngo Thi Hoa related the following:
“It is my pleasure and honor to welcome you to the celebration of Viet Nam’s 73rd National Day.
I would like to thank you all for coming. It is wonderful to see how your cooperation and engagement with Viet Nam over years have contributed to the development of our bilateral relations.
73 years ago, on the 2nd of September 1945, President, national hero, Ho Chi Minh read the Proclamation of Independence and the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam was born and now names the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam.
Over the years, Viet Nam has become a successful story, a dynamic country on the path of active integration into the world. Viet Nam is among the fastest growing economies in Asia with an average GDP growth rate of over 7% in 30 years and has become one of the world leading food exporters.
We have diplomatic relations with 186 countries and Viet Nam is a member of many major international and regional organizations such as the United Nations, ASEAN, APEC, ASEM, WTO, Non-aligned Movement…
In 2017, Vietnam’s economy grew by 6.81%, total import-export turnover was 425 billion USD. Viet Nam’s sustainable development index in 2017 increased 20 levels, ranked 68 out of 157 countries and territories according to UNDP. Viet Nam attracted 13 million international visitors.
In the course of our national development, the close bonds between our two countries, Viet Nam and the Netherlands, have been essential.
The Netherlands is among the first Western countries that established diplomatic relations with Viet Nam in 1973 and on the 26th of March 2018, the celebration of the 45th anniversary of Viet Nam and the Netherlands diplomatic relations in the Netherlands was launched by the Chairwoman of the National Assembly, Mdm. Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, with the presence of the Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management Ms. Cora van Nieuwenhuizen.
Over the past years, together with diplomatic, trade and investment cooperation, the bilateral cooperation in other fields such as defense, culture and tourism, education and training, transportation, cooperation among cities, and multilateral cooperation, and more… have also witnessed remarkable progress.
More importantly, the relationship between Viet Nam and the Netherlands has become a strategic partnership, with the Strategic Partnership on Climate Change and Water Management along with the Strategic Partnership for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security concluded respectively in 2010 and 2014.
In 2017, bilateral trade turnover reached US $ 7.7 billion. In the first four months of 2018, two-way trade value reached $ 2.3 billion (an increase of nearly 13% over the same period of 2017). The Netherlands has become the biggest EU export market for Viet Nam.
In terms of investment, the Netherlands has been the largest European investor in Viet Nam, ranking the 11th out of 116 countries and territories investing in Viet Nam with 304 projects and a total registered capital of $ 8.17 billion.
We are proud of our long-lasting people-to-people relations which started in the 60s-70s with movements for solidarity with Viet Nam. These days, tourism flows, cooperation between social organizations and knowledge institutions, as well as student exchanges have brought our people-to-people relations to a higher level.
We believe that our bilateral relations will continue to last and develop to a comprehensive partnership in the near future.
We are very thankful for the Dutch government and the Dutch people who have supported Viet Nam and nurtured our special relationship over the years”.
Without any doubt, the many colleagues of Ambassador Ngo ThiHoa, friends of Viet Nam and well-wishers, enjoyed the Vietnamese music, Vietnamese food and Vietnamese spirit.
