Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte have pledged to speed up negotiations for the early signing of a Vietnam-Netherlands strategic partnership on sustainable farming and food security.

During their talks on March 25, as part of PM Dung’s visit to the Netherlands to attend the third Nuclear Security Summit, the two sides discussed concrete measures to boost cooperation in the five prioritised areas of climate change and water resource management, agriculture, energy and oil and gas, seaport, and logistics.

PM Dung confirmed that Vietnam highly values its cooperation with the Netherlands , viewing its ties with the country as a model in its relationship with European countries, and wishes to receive more support from the country in strengthening its relations with the European Union.

He asked the Dutch Government to maintain its official development assistance in agriculture, water resource management, infrastructure system, education and training.

Both sides held that bilateral defence cooperation has been growing positively and effectively.

The Dutch PM said he is eager for his visit to Vietnam in this June.

The same day, PM Dung also had meetings with the Singaporean PM, Malaysian Deputy PM and President of the European Council (EC).

Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong spoke highly of the efficiency of five Vietnam-Singapore industrial parks in Vietnam and expressed hope that the sixth and seventh parks of this kind will soon be established.

The two sides agreed to work more closely, as well as with other partners, especially ASEAN member countries, in the negotiations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

They discussed ways to strengthen their affiliation within ASEAN, including the maintenance of peace, stability and marine security, safety and freedom in the East Sea , as well as the settlement of disputes through peaceful methods in respect of the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea.

At a meeting with Malaysian Deputy PM Mudyiddin Yassin, PM Dung extended his sympathies to the Malaysian Government and people over flight MH370 with 239 people on board missing in the southern Indian Ocean.

Mudyiddin Yassin thanked Vietnam for enthusiastically seeking for the vanished jetliner, while highly valuing the close direction of PM Dung during the hunt.

During a working session with EC President Jose Manuel Barroso, PM Dung proposed that the EU consider the development gap between the group and Vietnam during negotiations of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which are expected to be concluded before the 10 th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in October.

Vietnam hopes that the EVFTA will be a balanced deal, bringing practical benefits for both sides.

Barroso reaffirmed the EU’s commitments to maintaining its assistance to Vietnam in the 2014-2020 period.

Early on March 26, PM Dung left the Netherlands for Cuba to begin his official visit to the Latin American country from March 26-28.-VNA