The 6th meeting of the Vietnam-Netherlands intergovernmental committee on climate change adaptation and water management took place in The Hague, the Netherlands, on April 19.
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The session was co-chaired by Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung and Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and Environment Melanie Schultz.
In his speech opening the function, Deputy PM Dung expressed his delight at the growing bilateral relations in the past 44 years and noted the elevation of the ties to strategic partnership on climate change adaptation and water management.
The two countries have turned climate change challenges into cooperation opportunities in agriculture, water management and education-training, he added.
Dung took the occasion to thank the Dutch Government for helping Vietnam’s Mekong Delta region design the path for sustainable development, better manage local natural resources, and reduce the region’s vulnerability.
He said Vietnam welcomes further financial and technical assistance from the Netherlands to address urgent issues, such as the building of a national database on environment and natural resources, the prevention of drought and saline intrusion, the management of water supply and drainage, the use of underground water and the erosion and sinking of river banks and coastal lines.
Minister Melanie Schultz lauded positive outcomes of joint projects between the two countries, particularly those carried out last year, which have contributed significantly to the mitigation of climate change impacts on the Mekong Delta.
Highlighting the importance of the Mekong Delta Plan (MDP), she affirmed that the Netherlands is willing to support and transfer technologies to help develop the region sustainably, and join hands with Vietnam in tackling climate change challenges.
She pointed to the fact that a number of Dutch companies, which are experienced in dredging and erosion prevention, and research institutes want to form partnerships with Vietnam.
At the meeting, the two sides reviewed the implementation of agreements reached at the previous meeting in March last year, and discussed in details orientations to carry out the MDP, the NICHE (Netherlands Initiative for Capacity Development in Higher Education) and ORIO (facility for infrastructure development) programmes, and projects related to bilateral cooperation in business, trade and agriculture, and links between their localities.
The two sides highlighted the success of the MDP, especially the two projects funded by the World Bank, which helped promote the region’s socio-economic development in a sustainable manner.
They stressed that the MDP is an example for regional countries to learn from, and affirmed the inseparable connection between agriculture and water as well as between agriculture and the future of the Mekong Delta.
The meeting agreed on further measures to promote sustainable development in connection with rural development in the region, and create opportunities for regional residents to access knowledge, experience and technologies.
The two sides agreed to create favourable conditions for preparing financial plans for projects.
The meeting heard that the NICHE and ORIO programmes of the Netherlands in the field of education importantly contributed to implementing a strategic partnership agreement between the two countries, helping Vietnam improve its capacity in water management, climate change adaptation, agriculture and maritime transport.
Regarding trade links, the two sides focused their discussion on the implementation of business and trade cooperation projects.
Participants also hailed cooperation between Ho Chi Minh City and Rotterdam in adapting to climate change, as well as the partnership between Hanoi and Amsterdam in improving the environment in To Lich river, and in making a water resources planning for the Hong and Thai Binh rivers’ basin for 2020-2039 with a vision to 2050.
They underlined the great potential for Vietnam and the Netherlands to continue cooperation within the programme of water and agriculture geographical data in Vietnam.
The two sides agreed to discuss and promote new cooperation plans on the basis of Vietnam’s potential, and traditional strengths of the Netherlands.
Relevant ministries, sectors and localities of both countries will proactively deploy programmes and projects related to climate change adaptation, towards turning the cooperation into an outstanding model for cooperation among countries worldwide in the field.
Deputy PM Trinh Dinh Dung and Minister Melanie Schultz signed the minutes of the meeting, agreeing that the 7th event will be held in Hanoi next year.
Vietnam highly evaluates India’s role and contributions to regional peace, stability and development, and always regards India as one of its most important partners, the top leader said.
The Party and State leaders expressed their profound respect and boundless gratitude to President Ho Chi Minh, who founded and trained the Communist Party of Vietnam and made immense contributions to the Party and nation’s glorious revolutionary cause.
The NA's Committee for Cultural and Social Affairs has moved fast to reshuffle its organisation after the 14th National Party Congress and the election of deputies to the 16th NA, updating its work agenda to match new directives set out in the resolutions of the 14th National Party Congress and the first Congress of the NA Party Organisation for the 2025–2030 term.
Vietnam and Croatia should strive to double bilateral trade turnover from the current level of 161 million USD; study the establishment of a Joint Committee on Economic Cooperation to create a long-term, stable, and effective framework for collaboration, said Prime Minister Le Minh Hung.
Vice President of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) Jesús Faria expressed deep admiration for President Ho Chi Minh and Vietnam’s indomitable struggle for national independence. He described President Ho Chi Minh as an immortal symbol of 20th-century national liberation movements, whose legacy continues to inspire leftist parties, progressive movements, and peoples across Latin America, including Venezuela.
Vietnam National University, Hanoi must rise even further, becoming a leading academic pillar, a major hub of innovation, and a pioneering force in Vietnam’s higher education system; while also serving as a distinguished and reputable representative of Vietnamese intellect on the international stage.
Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Minh Hang shared Vietnam’s approach to building an independent and self-reliant economy linked to deep international integration, while proposing several key areas for enhanced cooperation between BRICS and partner countries at the Expanded BRICS Foreign Ministers' Meeting that opened on May 14 in India.
The Central Steering Committee for reviewing the one-year operation of the political system’s apparatus and the two-tier local administration model convened its first session in Hanoi on May 14.
PSNews - The spokesperson stated that the dispatch of personnel by relevant parties to features belonging to Truong Sa without Vietnam’s permission constitutes a violation of Vietnam’s sovereignty under international law. She stressed that such actions run counter to the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) as well as ongoing efforts by countries to negotiate a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).
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Both sides emphasised that advancing bilateral relations is a shared strategic choice, and pledged to steadfastly pursue the socialist path and jointly safeguard the socialist regimes and the leadership role of their Communist Parties as their most fundamental common strategic interest, Ambassador He Wei said.
At the meetings, the senior Vietnamese Party official affirmed that Vietnam would continue to work closely with Cambodia to strengthen and deepen bilateral ties, while consistently supporting Cambodia’s peaceful, stable and prosperous development.
Vietnam highly values the support of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in strengthening national capacity in crime prevention and criminal justice, drug control, and addressing emerging challenges, particularly cybercrime, said Ambassador Vu Le Thai Hoang.
NA Chairman Tran Thanh Man underlined that digital transformation must go beyond investing in software or platforms and instead create substantive changes in working methods, advisory quality and operational efficiency.
Consolidating the central steering committees for institutional and legal reform and for judicial reform is necessary in order to streamline organisational structures without reducing responsibilities, while ensuring clear accountability, measurable outputs and concrete results. Following the restructuring, the body will be renamed the central steering committee for institutional improvement and law enforcement, with the Party General Secretary and State President serving as its head.
Bui Thi Minh Hoai was re-elected President of the the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee for the 2026-2031 tenure at the first conference of the 11th-term VFF Central Committee, held before the closing session of its 11th National Congress on May 13 morning in Hanoi.
At the meeting this week, Ambassador Viet briefed the UNGA President on developments during the first two weeks of the conference. He stressed that the current international geopolitical landscape poses numerous complex challenges, while reaffirming Vietnam’s determination, together with other member states, to promote substantive and balanced outcomes at the conference.
The host leader stressed that cooperation between localities, particularly between the capitals of Hanoi and Vientiane, plays an especially important role as a pioneering force in effectively implementing the foreign polices of the two Parties and States, while also serving as a bridge between politics and development, as well as between strategy and concrete action.
More than 1,300 delegates are attending the 11th National Congress of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) for the 2026–2031 tenure, including 1,138 official delegates.
Prime Minister Le Minh Hung praised ministries and agencies for their proactive steps since the beginning of this year and especially from early April to follow the Politburo’s Resolution 57 and Conclusion 18, with clear, positive progress.