Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his spouse left Hanoi on March 11 for an official visit to New Zealand from March 11 -14 (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – The official visit to New Zealand byVietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc from March 11 to 14 will create adriving force for the enhancement of the countries’ comprehensive partnershipand the expansion of cooperation areas in the future, Ambassador Nguyen VietDung has said.
The Vietnamese ambassador to New Zealand madethe remark in an interview with Vietnam News Agency on the threshold of thetrip.
Ambassador Dung said the visit is made amid thedeveloping cooperation and friendship between Vietnam and New Zealand. It ismeant to affirm Vietnam’s consistent foreign policy of independence, autonomy,and multilateralisation and diversification of foreign relations, includingthose with New Zealand.
The visit will also be an occasion for the twosides to strengthen political trust and create a solid foundation to intensifybilateral cooperation under the orientations set up in the Vietnam-New ZealandAction Plan for 2017-2020, signed in November last year when New Zealand PMJacinda Ardern attended the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week in Vietnam.
He noted since the two countries establishedtheir diplomatic relationship in 1975 and the comprehensive partnership in2009, bilateral ties have been increasingly reinforced as seen through regularmutual visits and meetings at high levels and cooperation between theirministries, sectors and localities.
Economic and trade connections have posted greatstrides, the diplomat said, adding that during the trip, the two sides willhold a business forum in Auckland city, and the event is expected to attract anumber of big enterprises from the countries.
Vietnam is currently the 16th biggest tradepartner of New Zealand. Bilateral trade has grown by 15-20 percent over thelast five years. According to the Statistics New Zealand, trade between thecountries in 2017 surged by nearly 30 percent from the previous year to surpass1.6 billion NZD (1.2 billion USD), including 753 million NZD of Vietnam’sexports.
With this trade growth trend and the twoeconomies’ ability to support each other, the targeted trade in goods andservices of 2.5 billion NZD (1.7 billion USD) in 2020 is completely achievable,he said.
[Infographics: Vietnam-New Zealand comprehensive partnership]
At present, the countries are members theASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement, which took effect in January2010, and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-PacificPartnership (CPTPP) that was signed in Chile on March 8. Vietnam and New Zealand, alongwith nine other ASEAN member nations and five partner countries of ASEAN, arealso taking part in the negotiation on the Regional Comprehensive EconomicPartnership (RCEP).
Ambassador Dung noted education is a highlightof bilateral relations. More than 2,200 Vietnamese students are studying in NewZealand. During the visit, the two PMs are set to witness the signing of someeducational cooperation documents such as a strategic cooperation plan for2018-2020 and some agreements between universities, with the aim of increasingthe number of Vietnamese students in New Zealand by 30 percent by 2020.
New Zealand Ambassador to Vietnam Wendy Matthews (second, left) and representatives of the Plant and Food Research of New Zealand visit a dragon fruit farm in Tien Giang province (Photo: VNA)Agriculture is also an important contributor totrade and investment ties. Vietnam and New Zealand have traded a number ofagricultural products. New Zealand has also assisted Vietnam to develop valuechains in agricultural production and build the capacity of small- andmedium-sized enterprises.
The ambassador said there remains much room forthe two countries to boost aviation and tourism links. Vietnamese tourists toNew Zealand have risen by 32 percent while the number of New Zealand visitorsto the Southeast Asian nation has soared by 41 percent thanks to Air NewZealand’s opening of seasonal direct flights from Auckland to Ho Chi Minh Cityin 2016.
According to the diplomat, it is of utmostimportance to effectively implement cooperation in the prioritised fieldslisted in the Action Plan for 2017-2020. They need to make new breakthroughsand lay new milestones in each field and create favourable conditions for theirenterprises to invest and do business in each other’s markets to optimize the advantagesbrought by free trade agreements.
Vietnam need to make use of those trade deals,step up trade promotion, and set up targets for each group of commodities tohelp its goods, especially agricultural products, to access New Zealand’smarket, he added.
During the interview, Ambassador Dung voiced hisbelief that the Vietnam-New Zealand relationship, nurtured by generations ofthe countries’ leaders and people, will reach a new height – strategicpartnership – in the near future for the sake of each country’s people and forpeace, stability, cooperation, development and prosperity in Asia-Pacific andthe world.-VNA
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