Impetus to promote comprehensive development of Vietnam - New Zealand relations

The visit to New Zealand by Head of the Central Propaganda and Education Commission Nguyen Trong Nghia will create new momentum, promoting political, economic, educational cooperation and people-to-people exchange within the framework of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

Mr. Nguyen Trong Nghia, Politburo member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Head of the Central Propaganda and Education Commission, will pay a working visit to New Zealand from September 22 to 25 (Photo: Tuan Anh/VNA).

Vietnam-New Zealand relations have made great strides, with the two countries upgrading their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in February 2025, during New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's visit to Vietnam.

According to a VNA correspondent in Oceania, Vietnam is New Zealand's 12th largest trading partner, with two-way trade turnover reaching 1.3 billion USD in 2024; in the first 6 months of 2025 reaching more than 700 million USD (up 18.8% over the same period in 2024).

New Zealand currently has 57 investment projects in Vietnam, with a total capital of nearly 210 million USD; while Vietnam has 12 investment projects in New Zealand, with a total capital of 44 million USD.

New Zealand always provides Vietnam with a stable source of official development assistance (ODA).

Cooperation between the two countries in other areas such as education and training, agriculture and labor has achieved encouraging results. The two sides are also actively promoting cooperation in areas such as climate change, energy transition, and defense and security.

The Communist Party of Vietnam has good relations with the New Zealand National Party and the New Zealand Labour Party, mainly through the exchange of telegrams and letters. The leaders of the New Zealand National Party and the New Zealand Labour Party both requested to meet with the General Secretary of the Vietnamese Party during their working visits to Vietnam.

According to plan, from September 22 to 25, Mr. Nguyen Trong Nghia, Politburo member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Head of the Central Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Commission, will visit and work in New Zealand.

Vietnamese Ambassador to New Zealand Phan Minh Giang said that Mr. Nguyen Trong Nghia's visit to New Zealand this time is very important.

This is the first visit by a Politburo-level leader of Vietnam to New Zealand after the two countries agreed to upgrade their bilateral relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in February 2025, and took place right after New Zealand Parliament Speaker Gerry Brownlee successfully concluded his official visit to Vietnam at the end of August.

This visit of Mr. Nguyen Trong Nghia comes at a time when Vietnam and New Zealand are actively coordinating to implement activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations (1975-2025) throughout 2025.

At the same time, the visit took place in the context of the Vietnam - New Zealand relationship continuing to develop strongly and comprehensively in all areas of cooperation, based on the solid foundation of 50 years of relations, along with high political trust and strategic trust between the two countries being increasingly consolidated.

According to Ambassador Phan Minh Giang, this visit of Mr. Nguyen Trong Nghia to New Zealand is highly valued, coordinated and carefully prepared by both Vietnam and New Zealand.

The New Zealand side emphasized the importance of the visit and warmly welcomed Mr. Nguyen Trong Nghia as a guest of the New Zealand Government.

Also according to Ambassador Phan Minh Giang, within the framework of the visit, it is expected that Politburo member, Party Central Committee Secretary, Head of the Central Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Commission Nguyen Trong Nghia will pay a courtesy visit to the Speaker of the New Zealand Parliament, meet and work with New Zealand's ministers in charge of higher education and climate change, work with the leadership of Victoria University of Wellington and Auckland University of Technology...

On this occasion, Head of the Central Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Commission Nguyen Trong Nghia will meet with officials and staff of the Vietnamese Embassy, ​​representatives of the Vietnamese community in New Zealand, as well as representatives of Vietnamese officials and students attending courses and training at Victoria University of Wellington. At the same time, Mr. Nguyen Trong Nghia and the delegation will attend the 80th National Day Celebration of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, hosted by the Vietnamese Embassy in New Zealand.

With rich and practical activities, Ambassador Phan Minh Giang believes that this visit by Head of the Central Propaganda and Education Commission Nguyen Trong Nghia will add momentum to promote the Vietnam - New Zealand relationship to continue to develop strongly, positively and comprehensively, including further strengthening political cooperation through regular high-level exchanges on Party, Government and National Assembly channels, contributing significantly to the effective implementation of the newly established Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

Accordingly, the two countries will actively coordinate to effectively utilize existing potentials and strengths to create more breakthroughs in cooperation fields, bringing more practical benefits to the people of the two countries.

In addition, during this visit, Mr. Nguyen Trong Nghia will spend time meeting and contacting representatives of associations and the Vietnamese community in New Zealand, demonstrating the concern of the Party, the State and the Head of the Central Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Commission for the Vietnamese community abroad in general and in New Zealand in particular - an inseparable part of the Vietnamese ethnic community.

Ambassador Phan Minh Giang believes that the meeting will contribute to connecting the hearts of overseas Vietnamese in New Zealand more closely with their homeland and country, helping overseas Vietnamese update the country's situation, the State's policies, the socio-economic achievements of a renewed, integrated and developed Vietnam, and at the same time encourage overseas Vietnamese to join hands to realize the aspiration of building a strong, prosperous and happy country.

Ambassador Phan Minh Giang also said that education and training has always been a bright spot in cooperation between Vietnam and New Zealand over the years.

Hundreds of scholarships from the New Zealand Government have been awarded to Vietnamese students. Hundreds of Vietnamese officials and civil servants have been trained in English and professional skills in New Zealand since 1992 and have returned to make important contributions to the country's development.

The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Framework that Vietnam and New Zealand agreed to establish in February 2025 has affirmed that education and training cooperation continues to be an important pillar, while opening up many new opportunities for the two countries to coordinate to enhance cooperation in this important field.

During the visit, Mr. Nguyen Trong Nghia is expected to work with the New Zealand Minister in charge of higher education and the leadership of several prestigious education and training centers such as Victoria University of Wellington, Auckland University of Technology, etc.

In addition, Head of the Central Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Commission Nguyen Trong Nghia will also have a meeting to encourage Vietnamese officials and students studying and training at Victoria University of Wellington - the university with the most Vietnamese international students among universities in New Zealand.

Ambassador Phan Minh Giang believes that these practical activities will certainly contribute positively to promoting bilateral cooperation in education and training to become more in-depth and effective, through many diverse cooperation programs on training linkage, capacity building support, professional and academic exchanges, experience sharing, with many attractive scholarship forms, thereby actively contributing to the efforts to implement Resolution No. 71-NQ/TW dated August 22, 2025 on breakthroughs in education and training development and the Government's Action Program to implement this Resolution.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/thoi-su/xung-luc-thuc-day-quan-he-viet-nam-new-zealand-phat-trien-toan-dien-20250921162148846.htm