Top leader To Lam concludes state visit to New Zealand
VOV.VN - A high-ranking Vietnamese delegation led by Vietnamese Party General Secretary and State President To Lam left Auckland on August 13 (local time), concluding their state visit to New Zealand at the invitation of Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro.
During the visit, the top Vietnamese leader held talks with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and meetings with Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro and Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives Gerry Brownlee. He also attended the Vietnam-New Zealand Business Roundtable and the Vietnam-New Zealand Higher Education and Skills Forum.
The engagements provided an opportunity for the two sides to review progress in bilateral relations since Vietnam and New Zealand upgraded their ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2025, while identifying areas with further potential for practical cooperation.
Turning the upgraded partnership into practical outcomes
At the meetings, the two sides agreed to further strengthen political trust and exchanges at all levels and through Party, State, parliamentary and people-to-people channels.
They also pledged to effectively implement the Action Programme for the Vietnam-New Zealand Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for 2025-2030, with a focus on turning high-level commitments into concrete results.
Economic, trade and investment cooperation was identified as an important area with considerable room for expansion.
The two sides stressed the need to make better use of shared commitments under trade agreements, including the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA).
They also vowed to facilitate trade, expand market access for each country's key agricultural products and address technical barriers, quality standards, quarantine, food safety and electronic certification.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon affirmed that New Zealand would continue to strongly promote trade and investment cooperation, creating more opportunities for businesses from both countries to invest and operate in each other's markets.
Agriculture, education and connectivity among priorities
Agriculture and environmental cooperation emerged as another area of strong potential.
Party General Secretary and State President To Lam expressed his appreciation for New Zealand's long-standing support for Vietnam, particularly in agriculture and environmental protection, and called for continued cooperation in developing green, low-emission and climate-resilient agriculture, ensuring food security and increasing the added value of agricultural products.
The two sides also agreed to make education, tourism, connectivity and people-to-people exchanges important drivers of bilateral relations.
Cooperation in developing high-quality human resources is expected to expand, while the two sides encouraged their airlines to work towards establishing direct air links between Vietnam and New Zealand.
Education was also highlighted during the Vietnam-New Zealand Higher Education and Skills Forum, where the two sides discussed cooperation in human resource development, research, innovation and skills for the future.
At the Vietnam-New Zealand Business Roundtable, meanwhile, the top Vietnamese leader called on businesses to move beyond traditional trade relations towards joint investment, research, product development and deeper participation in regional and global value chains.
Broader regional and international cooperation
Vietnam and New Zealand also agreed to continue coordinating and supporting each other at multilateral forums, particularly the United Nations.
The two sides reaffirmed the importance of upholding international law and peacefully resolving disputes in the East Sea in accordance with international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
New Zealand also expressed support for Vietnam during its APEC 2027 year, while the two sides pledged to further contribute to peace, stability, cooperation and sustainable development in the region.
During the visit, Party General Secretary and State President To Lam and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon witnessed the exchange of cooperation documents between ministries and agencies of the two countries.
The visit thus provided further momentum for Vietnam and New Zealand to translate their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership into more concrete cooperation, particularly in areas where the two economies have complementary strengths and where both sides see strong potential for future growth.
Vietnam - New Zealand joint statement
Vietnam and New Zealand have issued a joint statement on the occasion of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President To Lam’s state visit to New Zealand from August 12-13.
