Man, who was in New Zealand from December3-5, was the first foreign guest hosted by Mallard after taking office onNovember 7.
The VFF leader congratulated New Zealand onits successful general election in September 2017 and forming a new government,believing that the New Zealand government and parliament will continueimproving the country’s stature.
Lauding New Zealand’s contributions to theAsia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Meeting recently held in Vietnam,Man affirmed that Vietnam is ready to share experience with New Zealand tofulfill the role of APEC host in 2021.
The guest asked New Zealand’s parliament andgovernment to continue supporting Vietnamese nationals in the country that nownumber nearly 7,000, who he said, serve as a bridge for bilateral cooperation.
The VFF leader welcomed close supportbetween the two countries in regional and global forums, as well as NewZealand’s stance on the East Sea issue in the spirit of respect for internationallaw.
He expressed his wish to continue receiveNew Zealand’s support of Vietnam and ASEAN’s stance on the issue.
Mallard, for his part, briefed his guestabout progress in New Zealand’s education sector, adding that New Zealand wantsto extend ties with countries, including Vietnam, via education-trainingcollaboration.
The same day, Man had a brief meeting withPrime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern.
Earlier, he met Vietnamese nationals in the country.
At present, nearly 2,500 Vietnamese studentsstudy in New Zealand. The Auckland – Ho Chi Minh City direct air route, whichopened in June 2016, has been tapped effectively. Two-way trade has grown bynearly 20 percent annually, reaching 900 million USD last year and the figureis estimated to hit 1.7 billion USD by 2020.
New Zealand currently has 28 validinvestment projects worth nearly 101.94 million USD in Vietnam, 41st out of 120 countries and territories investing in the country.-VNA