On the morning of September 12, Mr Manh met with New Zealand Governor General Anan Satyanand who welcomed the Vietnamese delegation and praised their visit to the country. He affirmed that New Zealand always attaches much importance to the long-term, stable and co-operative relations with Vietnam.

Mr Manh expressed his delight at his first visit to New Zealand and emphasised Vietnam’s consistent policy to boost co-operative relations with countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including New Zealand.

The two leaders were pleased with the fine development of Vietnam-New Zealand relations in recent years in terms of economics, trade, investment, ODA, education, training, and tourism and their close coordination at regional and international forums. They highly valued the establishment of a comprehensive partnership between the two countries and considered this an important event to open up a new chapter in ties between the two countries and create a firm foundation for bilateral and multilateral co-operation in all fields.

Mr Manh invited Mr Satyanand to visit Vietnam soon and he happily accepted the invitation.

On the way home, Party leader Manh sent a telegram to thank Prime Minister John Key.