General Secretary Lam warmly welcomed Speaker Brownlee and the New Zealand parliamentary delegation, highlighting the significance of the visit which coincides with the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and New Zealand (1975–2025) as well as Vietnam’s upcoming 80th National Day on September 2.

Emphasising New Zealand as a close and trusted friend, he appreciated New Zealand’s consistent support for Vietnam’s development efforts over the years. He noted that strengthening the bilateral friendship and cooperation benefits both peoples and contributes to peace, stability, and regional cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.

Pleased with the robust growth of Vietnam-New Zealand relations, especially the solid foundation of political trust, General Secretary To Lam proposed increasing exchanges at all levels through party, government, parliamentary, business, and people-to-people channels to deepen mutual understanding.

Regarding economic cooperation, he highlighted the complementary nature of the two economies and called for enhanced trade and investment activities to achieve the bilateral trade target of US$3 billion in 2026.

The Party General Secretary also underscored the importance of cultural, educational, and people-to-people exchanges as a pillar of bilateral ties. He expressed gratitude for New Zealand’s reception and support for a large number of Vietnamese students studying English and other fields, while proposing early implementation of direct flights and simplified visa procedures to facilitate travel between the two countries.

He also requested that New Zealand continue create favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community to live, study, and work in New Zealand, encouraging them to play an active role in both New Zealand’s socio-economic development and the bilateral relationship.

For his part, Speaker Brownlee congratulated Vietnam on its 80th National Day, and shared his admiration for the strong national spirit and pride demonstrated by local people during this significant milestone.

He highly regarded Vietnam’s increasing role in Southeast Asia and affirmed New Zealand’s view of Vietnam as a key and close partner in the region. He also confirmed that the New Zealand Parliament would actively support efforts to strengthen the friendship between the two peoples and deepen cooperation across various sectors.

He welcomed Vietnamese students, scientists, and researchers coming to New Zealand for study and research, acknowledged the positive contributions of the Vietnamese community to New Zealand, and agreed on the necessity of soon establishing direct flights and boosting trade and investment promotion activities.

The two leaders also agreed to enhance close cooperation on regional and international issues. General Secretary To Lam affirmed Vietnam’s readiness to collaborate and support New Zealand in strengthening relations with ASEAN and elevating ASEAN-New Zealand Dialogue Relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2025.

Vietnam and New Zealand examine measures to raise trade to US$3 bln in 2026

VOV.VN - National Assembly Chairman of Vietnam Tran Thanh Man and Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives Gerry Brownlee agreed to pursue concrete and breakthrough measures to raise two-way trade turnover between the two countries to US$3 billion by 2026.