Vietnam and New Zealand to take strategic partnership to new heights
VOV.VN - Vietnam and New Zealand will upgrade their relations to new heights based on their current strategic partnership that has developed substantially and deeply in recent times.
The announcement was made by New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at a joint press briefing in Wellington on March 11 following their talks which were described as fruitful by the two leaders.
“We discussed a number of cooperation areas and outlined orientations for the Vietnam - New Zealand Strategic Partnership to continue to strengthen and deepen towards a higher level in the coming time,” said Chinh.
According to him, the two sides will promote political trust and strategic trust through political and diplomatic cooperation, creating a stronger foundation for bilateral relations. They will strengthen and expand cooperation in all important pillars of the strategic partnership, including economics - trade - investment, security - defense, agriculture and people-to-people exchanges.
The two countries will accelerate cooperation and make breakthroughs in fields such as science - technology, innovation, green and digital economic development, environmentally friendly technology transfer, emission reduction, agricultural development, marine economy, environmental protection, labour, and vocational training, as well as emerging technology industries such as artificial intelligence and semiconductor chips.
They will establish a working group to connect and promote implementation of cooperation agreements.
Chinh said the two sides discussed regional and international issues of mutual concern. They agreed to closely coordinate and support each other, especially at the United Nations, ASEAN-led forums, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC), and the Asia-Europe Cooperation Forum (ASEM). They vowed to enhance dialogue and cooperation for mutual benefit, effectively respond to common challenges in the region, and ramp up cooperation in the Mekong Sub-region.
With regard to the East Sea issue, the two sides reaffirmed the importance of ensuring peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation in the waters; not using force or threatening to use force; resolving disputes by peaceful means on the basis of international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). They consented to exchange, share information and strengthen maritime cooperation, striving to turn the East Sea into a sea of peace, stability, friendship, cooperation and development.
Luxon for his part said during the talks, the two sides made commitments to jointly contribute to building an Asia-Pacific region of peace, stability, cooperation, and development, bringing benefits for the two countries and their peoples.
Both countries agreed to promote comprehensive relations in all fields, from politics, and diplomacy, to economics - trade - investment, agriculture, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges, he said.
Luxon said over the past five years, trade cooperation between Vietnam and New Zealand have grown constantly, with two-way trade turnover increasing by 60%. The two sides strive to bring their two-way trade turnover to US$2 billion in 2024 and soon double their two-way investment through appropriate measures, while jointly working on the net zero emissions target by 2050.
According to Luxon, there are areas of cooperation that ate yet to be untapped by the two countries. He also announced the implementation of phase 3 of a project to develop high quality fruit varieties worth NZD6.24 million. in Vietnam.
The two sides need to make efforts to bring into full play their potential, and immediately organize activities with practical results towards 50 years of bilateral diplomacy in 2025 and a higher level of bilateral relations, he said.
Luxon congratulated Vietnam on its recent strong socio-economic development achievements, becoming a ‘dragon’ in the region. He thanked Chinh for inviting him to visit Vietnam at an appropriate time.
Earlier, after the talks, the two PMs witnessed the signing of cooperation documents in the fields of education-training, economics-trade, and finance between the two countries’ ministries.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife paid an official visit to New Zealand on March 10-11 at the invitation of New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.
