Towards upgrading Vietnam - New Zealand relations to new heights

On the afternoon of August 13, at the Government headquarters, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received New Zealand Ambassador to Vietnam Caroline Beresford on the occasion of the Ambassador's new term.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh receives New Zealand Ambassador to Vietnam Caroline Beresford - Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

At the meeting, the Prime Minister thanked the New Zealand Government for sending sincere condolences and sending a Special Envoy to attend the State Funeral of the late General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, an exceptionally outstanding leader of the Vietnamese people.

The Prime Minister thanked the warm welcome and expressed satisfaction with the results of the official visit to New Zealand in March 2024. The Prime Minister highly appreciated the Ambassadors and the Foreign Ministries of the two countries for actively coordinating to implement the results achieved during the visit; in which, the visit of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters, who co-chaired the 2nd Vietnam - New Zealand Foreign Ministers' Meeting in June 2024, helped to concretize many cooperation contents.

The Prime Minister highly appreciated the continued development and in-depth development of the Vietnam-New Zealand relationship and emphasized that 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and the 5th anniversary of the Strategic Partnership between Vietnam and New Zealand, an important milestone for the two countries to propose meaningful activities, including arranging high-level visits. On this occasion, the Prime Minister sent his regards and wishes to welcome New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to visit Vietnam in 2025.

The Prime Minister suggested that the two sides set out roadmaps, steps and substantive content to upgrade Vietnam-New Zealand relations. Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

The Prime Minister suggested that the two sides set out roadmaps, steps and substantive content to upgrade relations and take more breakthrough measures to achieve the target of two-way trade turnover of 2 billion USD by the end of 2024 and 3 billion USD by 2026, including facilitating each other's import and export products; thanked and requested New Zealand to continue supporting English language and specialized training for central and local officials of Vietnam; as well as expanding people-to-people exchanges.

Ambassador Caroline Beresford conveyed New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's regards to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, expressing her pleasure at taking up the post in Vietnam - one of New Zealand's important partners in Southeast Asia.

The Ambassador expressed his wish to develop the Vietnam - New Zealand relationship more comprehensively and deeply, towards upgrading the relationship to a new level. Thanking the Prime Minister for his attention and direction, the Ambassador affirmed that he will make efforts to coordinate with agencies, ministries and branches of the two countries to promote cooperation in potential areas, including trade and investment, educational cooperation, agriculture, new areas such as climate change, green economy, digital...

Ambassador Caroline Beresford expressed her wish to develop the Vietnam-New Zealand relationship more comprehensively and deeply. Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

The Ambassador also shared plans to organize meaningful activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-New Zealand relations in 2025, including organizing events to meet businesses and students who have studied in New Zealand in Hue and some other localities.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh highly appreciated Ambassador Caroline Beresford's opinion on the need for Vietnam and New Zealand to closely coordinate at multilateral forums; emphasizing that the two countries' sharing of many common views on regional and international issues is the foundation for the two sides to strengthen cooperation, contributing to building a peaceful, stable and developed Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean region./.

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