Building strong rapport between Viet Nam, New Zealand

New Zealand Acting Ambassador to Viet Nam Wendy Hinton made that above statement in her recent interview with the VGP about the significance of the Vietnamese PM's upcoming visit to New Zealand.

The Acting Ambassador said, New Zealand has quite a new Government which was elected last October, and this is very significant for PM Christopher Luxon's Government because it is the first visit to New Zealand by a head of Government since that election.

The Vietnamese PM will therefore be meeting for the first time with not only PM Luxon, but also with the Speaker of the New Zealand Parliament, the Governor-General and other high-ranking officials, which will underline the significance of the Viet Nam-New Zealand relationship, she shared.

In 2021, Viet Nam and New Zealand signed an action plan for the 2021-2024 period to deploy the strategic partnership between the two countries, she noted, expressing her hope that the visit will be an opportunity to reflect on how that plan has developed and what the outcomes have been, and focus on not only the achievements but also areas of future focus.

As 2024 is the last year of that plan, both sides will consider at the highest level whether they will be taking that into the future, she revealed, adding that they will be discussing how they might do to celebrate the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties in 2025, the diplomat said.

The areas that the two countries been working together already include agricultural cooperation and business development, and there are also other possibilities for cooperation in climate change, green economy, digital transformation, and agricultural technology.

As agriculture is a key element of bilateral trading relationship, the current common priorities are greenhouse gas emissions reduction, food safety, plant and animal health, and rural development.

Hinton hailed the progress of bilateral ties in all spheres of education, national defense-security, clean energy, climate resilience in agriculture, horticulture and aquaculture, and disaster and risk management in dam safety, especially in the Mekong region.

There is a big business delegation accompanying the Vietnamese PM, she said, adding that it offers an excellent chance to develop new business partnerships and promote the goal of achieving two-way trade at a certain level, probably about US$2 billion by the end of this year.

The two-way trade hit US$1.67 billion as of December 2023, which is not too far off from the goal of US$2 billion later this year, she emphasized.

According to the Ambassador, the visit will establish connections and enable discussions on existing cooperation in the areas of trade, finance, investment, agriculture, education, national defense and security, and notably a new strategic partnership action plan.

Hopefully, three agreements in education, trade, and economic cooperation will be signed at the end of the visit. The two PMs will also make two important announcements on other bilateral cooperation areas, Hinton said.

New Zealand sees Viet Nam as important factor in region

Regarding Viet Nam's role and position on the global arena, the diplomat said, New Zealand sees Viet Nam as an important factor in the region and the world.

The country has really constructively engaged in global and regional frameworks, such as the UN peacekeeping mission and accession to the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2022, the diplomat highlighted.

Viet Nam was visited by a series of top leaders in 2023, which shows that Viet Nam is a stable and outward looking partner, she added.

According to the Ambassador, New Zealand and Viet Nam have a very strong record of cooperation in regional organizations and institutions such as APEC and an ASEAN-centered regional architecture as well as economic integration initiatives, and both countries share commitment to multilateralism and international law.

The two countries are members of several regional trading agreements such as Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA), and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), she said, adding that New Zealand welcomes Viet Nam's partnership in that context.

As Viet Nam coordinates the ASEAN-New Zealand dialogue relationship from 2024-2027, this really provides an excellent opportunity for further bilateral cooperation on regional issues and consolidate bilateral partnership in the region, shared Hinton./.