The program was attended by many guests from the Embassy of the Netherlands in Vietnam, the Vietnam-Netherlands Friendship and Cooperation Association, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam, and many scientists and managers from universities and organizations of the two countries. This is an activity to celebrate the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the Netherlands (1973-2003).
Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Van Kim (right, Vice Principal) presents a souvenir from the School to Mr. Peter de Goeje.
Although Vietnam and the Netherlands are two countries far apart geographically, they have had many historical and cultural connections since very early times. Since the 17th century, diplomatic and trade relations between Dai Viet and the Republic of the Netherlands have been connected through the activities of the Dutch East India Company. In 1973, the Netherlands was one of the first countries in Western Europe to establish diplomatic relations with the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. The Netherlands was also one of the countries with a strong anti-war movement to support Vietnam's resistance war for independence and nation building. In 1971, the Science and Technology Committee for Vietnam was established in the Netherlands with the aim of implementing activities to provide material and spiritual support to the Vietnamese people.
From the activities of this Committee, cooperation activities between the two countries were established and promoted, including cooperation between universities. Since 1978, Vietnam and the Netherlands have built major cooperation programs in the fields of science, technology, health and social sciences and humanities. About 400 Vietnamese scientists have studied and researched in the Netherlands and about 100 Dutch scientists have researched in Vietnam. These activities mark a period of good friendly cooperation between the two countries.
Mr. Peter de Goeje is a Dutch engineer who participated in the Committee for Science and Technology for Vietnam and many movements to support Vietnam since the early 70s of the last century. The book “Sending greetings to solidarity” was written by him based on his direct experiences during this period, reflecting the efforts to help and the affection of the Dutch people towards Vietnam.
At the meeting, Prof. Phan Huy Le (Chairman of the Vietnam Historical Science Association), a historian who has been involved in Vietnam - Netherlands cooperation programs for many years, gave a respectful introduction to the author and the book. Prof. Phan Huy Le said that Mr. Peter de Goeje is not a writer or a scientist. He is a technology engineer, but with his love for Vietnam, he has spent a lot of effort collecting documents and interviewing characters to write a book with many valuable documents, very meaningful to the people of the two countries. The title of the book "Sending greetings of solidarity" is a very familiar sentence at the end of letters exchanged between Dutch and Vietnamese friends in the 70s, both as a greeting and as a motto, and also an affirmation: Dutch friends are ready to stand by the Vietnamese people in the arduous struggle.
Professor Phan Huy Le said: “I highly appreciate the significance of the book. The author was very honest with the rich materials he had, wrote clearly and coherently, and with his own perspective, reflected the vivid reality of what happened at that time. Through this work, Mr. Peter de Goeje revived the precious legacy in the relationship between the two countries in the past - that is understanding, mutual trust and the spirit of cooperation. The book directly contributes to promoting the development of the relationship between the two countries in the present and the future.”
Also at the meeting, Mr. Peter de Goeje and Prof. Phan Huy Le answered many questions from the guests about the content related to the book as well as about the development stages in the Vietnam - Netherlands cooperation relationship over the past 40 years.