Vietnamese ambassador to the Netherlands visits World Horti Centre

11052021 – naaldwijk, world horti center, delegatie uit vietnam met ambassadeur WHC © Thierry Schut

WESTLAND, Netherlands: On Tuesday 11 May, the Ambassador, Deputy Chief of Mission and Counsellors of the Vietnamese Embassy visited World Horti Center, where they were given a warm welcome by representatives of both The Netherlands Vietnam Horti Business Platform U.A. (NVHBP) and World Horti Center (WHC). This visit underscored these parties’ long-standing and pleasant cooperation with the Vietnamese government.

The Netherlands and Vietnam have been working closely together in the field of agriculture and horticulture for many years, and have laid this down in a Strategic Partnership Arrangement (SPA). To further intensify this partnership, Vietnam’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Nguyen Xuan Cuong, visited World Horti Center in late 2019. The fact that the Vietnamese government is once again visiting the meeting point for the greenhouse horticulture sector is illustrative of the close working relationship between WHC and the Vietnamese government and the importance of horticulture for this country.

During the visit, the four-member delegation, consisting of the new Vietnamese Ambassador, Mr Pham Viet Anh, the Deputy Chief of Mission, Mr  Nguyen Hoang Hai, the new Commercial Counsellor Ms Vo Thi Ngoc Diep and the departing Counsellor Mr Nguyen Hai Tinh were introduced to several leading companies in the sector. These included Van der Valk Horti Systems, Logiqs, Ridder Group and Rijk Zwaan. They were given a guided tour of World Horti Center by Mark Zwinkels of WHC and Henk van Eijk of NVHBP. Both organisations bade farewell to the departing consul, with whom they have enjoyed a pleasant cooperation for many years, and gave the new consul a warm welcome. After visiting World Horti Center, the delegation also paid a visit to KP Holland and Onings Holland Flowerbulbs.

Horticulture in Vietnam, and more specifically in the Dalat Region, is undergoing major developments in terms of professionalisation. This is necessary to meet the growing and changing demand among Vietnamese consumers. Vietnam is the fastest growing economy in this part of Southeast Asia, with the agriculture and horticulture sector accounting for approximately 20 per cent of Gross Domestic Product.

Dutch and Vietnamese companies are working together to contribute to the further development of the Vietnamese horticulture and floriculture sectors. The Netherlands Vietnam Horti Business Platform platform is a unique cluster of companies and organisations with knowledge & experience of the entire horticultural chain, including the applicable technology. Cooperation is of paramount importance here: the members join forces to build long-term working relationships by sharing their knowledge, expertise and resources in order to join and contribute to this growing sector in Vietnam, on the one hand, and to promote and commercialise Dutch horticultural technologies, on the other.