FM Son’s visit to New Zealand set to promote all-around co-operation

At the outset of the trip at the invitation of New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Nanaia Mahuta, Vietnamese Ambassador to New Zealand Nguyen Van Trung informed the press that it marks Minister Son’s first official visit to the nation. In addition, it is also the first ministerial visit by a Southeast Asian country to New Zealand since it first opened its border on August 1.

As part of the occasion, the ministers will co-chair the first face-to-face meeting of the annual foreign ministers' meeting (FMM) mechanism under an action plan to implement the Vietnam-New Zealand strategic partnership framework for the 2021 to 2024.

The action plan was signed in December, 2021, with a specific focus on strategic links formation, economic integration, and people connection. As a result, a series of activities and meetings in the fields of agriculture, defence, diplomacy, trade-industry, and co-operation among localities have been organised since the beginning of the year, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

New Zealand’s official border reopening has allowed the two sides to conduct various delegation exchange activities in education, economics, trade, investment, judicial co-operation, information and communication, and tourism in the last months of the year.

Furthermore, while in New Zealand, the Vietnamese FM and local officials will discuss preparations for delegation exchange activities between senior leaders of the two countries, Ambassador Trung noted.

According to information given by the local diplomat, the visit takes place amid both nations having opened their borders and making efforts to reconnect with the outside world following two years of dealing with the impact of the pandemic.

They share the common interest of seeking rapid economic recovery and development, as well as wanting to consolidate and diversify international relations, particularly with the political, security, and economic environments in the world and Asia-Pacific region experiencing many changes this year.

Through the trip and associated meetings by Minister Son with senior leaders of New Zealand, the country affirms its desire to strengthen and deepen the strategic partnership which will be in line with the nations’ high level of political trust and goodwill, said Ambassador Trung.

He outlined that the Vietnamese side remains determined to co-operate more deeply with New Zealand in accordance with the spirit of the agreement on establishing their strategic partnership signed on July 22, 2020, as part of the occasion of the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations.

The diplomat stressed that New Zealand is a key Vietnamese partner in terms of trade and official development assistance.

According to statistics given by NZ Tatauranga Aotearoa, New Zealand's official data agency, two-way turnover in 2021 hit NZD2.2 billion, equal to US$1.34 billion, an annual increase of 14.7%. This figure stood at NZD1.255 billion during the first half of the year, up 20.8% on-year.

Moreover, New Zealand recently offered Vietnam economic recovery aid worth NZD2 million.

Both sides are in the process of working to tap into fresh opportunities in development co-operation, with a specific focus on new priority areas such as green growth, digital transformation, and digital economic development.