New Zealand Prime Minister chairs welcome ceremony for Vietnamese counterpart

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon (L) greets PM Pham Minh Chinh. (Photo: VNA) 

Wellington (VNA) – New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his spouse on March 11 chaired a welcome ceremony with the traditional Maori ritual for Vietnamese PM Pham Minh Chinh and his spouse who are on an official visit to NZ from March 10-11.

Over nearly 50 years of diplomatic ties, the two countries’ relations have been developing unceasingly and were upgraded to a strategic partnership in July 2020.

The official welcome ceremony for PM Pham Minh Chinh. (Photo: VNA) 

Vietnam is currently the 14th largest trading partner of New Zealand with bilateral trade reaching 1.3 billion USD in 2023. As of November 2023, New Zealand had 52 investment projects worth 208.35 million USD in Vietnam, ranking 39th among 143 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, statistics showed.

There are about 11,000 Vietnamese people in the South Pacific nation, mainly in Auckland, Christchurch, and Wellington.     

During the visit, PM Chinh is scheduled to hold talks and meetings with senior leaders of New Zealand, attend meetings with heads of associations and leading businesses of the country, engage in working sessions with local scientific, technological, and educational institutions, and meet with the Vietnamese community here.

The two sides will discuss measures to further enhance bilateral cooperation, including such focal and traditional areas as trade, investment, labour, education - training, and agriculture./. 

VNA