PM welcomes New Zealand and Slovenian Ambassadors

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc receives newly accredited New Zealand, Ha Noi, February 22, 2017

Meeting with the New Zealand diplomat, PM Phuc affirmed that Viet Nam always treasures ties with New Zealand, expressing his pleasure at the finely growing cooperative relations between the two countries in many fields.

The potential for bilateral cooperation remains huge he said, urging both sides to tap fully into the potential, towards elevating bilateral ties to strategic partnership.

The PM stressed the need for the two countries to accelerate high-level exchanges in the future, while voicing his wish to welcome the New Zealand PM to attend the upcoming APEC Summit 2017 in Viet Nam.

PM Phuc said he hopes two-way trade will increase from the current US$700 million to US$3-5 billion during the term of Ambassador Wendy Irene Matthews, and asked the Ambassador to serve as a bridge to help more New Zealand businesses to go to Viet Nam to share experience and explore investment opportunities.

Viet Nam wishes to cooperate with New Zealand in the field of agriculture, which is among the country’s strength, he said.

He also mentioned cooperation potential in tourism and education.

The government leader asked the ambassador to function as a connecting bridge for New Zealand’s business delegation to visit Viet Nam to exchange experience and seek cooperation and investment opportunities in the country.

For her part, Ambassador Matthews affirmed that the New Zealand government highly values cooperative relations with Viet Nam.

She pledged her utmost efforts to contribute to deepening ties between the two countries across the fields of economics, politics, foreign affairs and people-to-people diplomacy, towards the goal of bringing bilateral relations to a new level, strategic partnership.

She highlighted education and agriculture as two key pillars in the two countries’ relations, saying New Zealand will continue providing scholarships to Vietnamese students and English training for Vietnamese officials.

New Zealand has strength in agriculture and hopes to cooperate with Vietnam in this field, especially clean vegetable and dragon fruit, she added.

At the reception for the Slovenian ambassador, PM Phuc spoke highly of the active developments in Viet Nam-Slovenia relations over the past years, particularly in the fields of foreign affairs, politics, trade and cooperation at international forums.

The PM noted that Viet Nam-Slovenia relations have made progress in recent years, particularly in the fields of diplomacy-politics and trade. The two countries supported each other’s candidacy to some United Nations agencies, and bilateral trade grew 30% year on year in 2016.

PM Phuc said he hopes the Ambassador will work to raise bilateral trade value by three or four times during his tenure.

He called on Slovenian investors to do business in Viet Nam, stressing that Viet Nam will create the best possible environment for investors.

Ambassador Janez Premoze noted that both sides seize numerous opportunities to promote people-to-people exchange, particularly the exchange between scientists.

Viet Nam is becoming a fascinating destination for tourists around the world, including the Slovenian, he said, expressing his wish to welcome more Vietnamese tourists to visit Slovenia in the future.

                                                                                                                                            By Vien Nhu