At the March 12 event, the organizers - PricewaterhouseCoopers and Vietnam Trade Centre International - introduced participants to the favourable investment climate in Vietnam, especially after the country officially joined the WTO three years ago.

The participants consisted of representatives of leading companies such as ECC, Global State, Rabobank, Meetin, Kneppelhout & Korthal N.V., and Purlefield Investment BV.

A professor of Amsterdam University, Kitty Koelemeijer, spoke about retail export in Vietnam, while the Chief Executive Officer of ECC, Tjeert Kwan, highlighted the reasons for his group’s investment in chains of supermarkets in Binh Duong province and some other provinces.

Mr Kwan also called for Dutch investment in the fields of real estate and retailing in Vietnam.

Vietnamese Ambassador to the Netherlands Ha Huy Thong made a presentation about the development of economic ties between Vietnam and the Netherlands, especially after the two countries set up their diplomatic relations in 1973.

Two-way revenues have constantly increased, hitting nearly US$2 billion in 2009, he said, adding that the Netherlands now tops the list of EU investors in Vietnam, with an investment value of nearly US$2.8 billion and a high disbursement rate of more than 80 percent.

The ambassador appealed for much more Dutch investment in Vietnam.

At the conference, many Dutch companies registered to take part in trips to Vietnam in May and November this year to seek business opportunities.

On March 13, the Mayoress of Almere city, Annemarie Jorritsma, received the Vietnamese delegation to the conference. During the meeting, she said that she planned to visit Vietnam and wanted to strengthen relations with Vietnam in terms of trade and urban development./.