On November 10th, 2025, the workshop “From Dock to Runway” took place in Hanoi, with the participation of Deputy Minister of Construction of Vietnam Nguyen Xuan Sang, Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation of the Netherlands Aukje de Vries, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Netherlands to Vietnam Kees van Baar. The workshop was held during the visit of the Netherlands Trade Delegation to Vietnam, marking the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Strategic Partnership on Climate Change Adaptation and Water Management, as well as the 11th anniversary of the Strategic Partnership on Agriculture and Food Security between the two countries.
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Deputy Minister Nguyen Xuan Sang spoke at the workshop.
The discussion sessions at the workshop focused on two key areas: developing smart-green airports and seaports, smart-green logistics, aiming to promote bilateral cooperation in sustainable connectivity infrastructure, innovation and energy transition.
According to experts and delegates attending the workshop, developing smart-green airports and seaports not only brings economic benefits but also creates an overall transformational momentum for sustainable growth and green development.
Economically, modern transport infrastructure helps optimize operations, save energy and logistics costs, increase productivity, attract investment, expand trade, thereby enhancing the country's competitive position in the global supply chain.
Environmentally, the application of renewable energy, electrification of equipment, and reduction of CO₂ emissions from aviation and seaport operations contribute to the Vietnamese Government's commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
Socially, the green and smart airport and seaport model will create high-quality jobs in the fields of technology, logistics, and environmental engineering; improve working conditions, reduce noise and pollution for communities surrounding large infrastructure areas.
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Minister Aukje de Vries spoke at the workshop.
Representatives of the Netherlands Trade Delegation said that the country has a lot of experience in developing sustainable port and aviation infrastructure, especially the model of Rotterdam Port and Schiphol Airport, two global icons of logistics and green operations. Therefore, Netherlands businesses bring many comprehensive solutions from dredging, infrastructure construction, to digitalization of operations, logistics automation and emission reduction.
Speaking at the workshop, Minister Aukje de Vries said that there are 27 leading Netherlands enterprises in the delegation to Vietnam this time to strengthen bilateral economic cooperation, especially in logistics and infrastructure.
Speaking at the workshop, Deputy Minister Nguyen Xuan Sang highly appreciated the cooperation with the Netherlands in developing seaports, aviation and green logistics, and said that the workshop is a valuable opportunity for Vietnam to learn from international experience and apply high technology to infrastructure management and modern traffic operations.
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Deputy Minister Nguyen Xuan Sang and Minister Aukje de Vries witnessed the two sides exchanging memorandum of understanding on bilateral cooperation in the fields of green infrastructure and smart logistics.
“The workshop “From Dock to Runway” took place in an open, cooperative and creative atmosphere. The thematic discussions brought many new perspectives, affirming the importance of connecting infrastructure for sustainable economic and trade growth of the two countries” - Sang said.
According to Sang, the relationship between Vietnam and the Netherlands in the field of seaports and aviation has been built and strengthened over many years, creating a substantial foundation for the connection between seaports - airports - logistics and people, as the message of the workshop.
Based on the results achieved at the workshop, Sang emphasized three priority cooperation directions between Vietnam and the Netherlands in the coming period, which are developing green and smart seaports; promoting sustainable aviation; building a multimodal connection model between seaports - aviation - logistics to form a green infrastructure ecosystem and innovation.
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Delegates took a photo at the workshop.
The two sides also agreed to promote a business connection program, encourage research cooperation and technology transfer, and support startups in the fields of green logistics and digital supply chains.
At the workshop, Deputy Minister Nguyen Xuan Sang and Minister Aukje de Vries witnessed the two sides exchanging the Memorandum of Understanding on the Extension of Cooperation in Training and Development of Maritime Human Resources between the Vietnam Maritime and Waterway Administration and STC International; the Memorandum of Understanding on Strategic Cooperation in the field of Logistics between Moovle and Van der Leun Vietnam; the Memorandum of Understanding on Future Strategic Cooperation on developing green technology for the maritime industry between Damen Shipyards and Xuan Thien Group.
At the conclusion of the workshop, Deputy Minister Nguyễn Xuân Sang emphasized: “Vietnam–Netherlands cooperation in the field of infrastructure is not only economic and technical cooperation, but also cooperation for a green future and global connectivity. This is a favorable time to turn vision into action and to realize concrete projects that bring practical benefits to both nations and the region.”
Expressing his gratitude to Minister Aukje de Vries, Ambassador Kees van Baar, the Embassy of the Netherlands to Vietnam, and all delegates for their companionship, sharing, and contributions to the success of the workshop, Deputy Minister Nguyễn Xuân Sang expressed his confidence that the Vietnam–Netherlands partnership will continue to grow stronger and deeper, moving toward a future of connectivity, prosperity, and sustainability.