Viet Nam and the Netherlands established diplomatic ties on April 9, 1973. The two countries have since maintained fine political relations through high-level exchange visits, supporting bilateral cooperation, especially in economics, trade, education and training.

The Netherlands has worked closely together with Viet Nam in successfully organising the 5^th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Hanoi in 2004, and drafting documents on development issues, climate change, and green growth at the G20 meeting.

Economic-trade ties between Viet Nam and the Netherlands have grown and flourished over the years. Although the Netherlands has a smaller population size compared to other EU member states, two-way trade between the two countries has increased annually.