Hanoi (VNA) – Party General Secretary To Lam hosted a reception in Hanoi on February 26 for visiting New Zealand Prime Minister and Leader of the New Zealand National Party Christopher Luxon.
Welcoming the guest and his entourage on their official visit, which coincides with the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties, Party chief Lam thanked Luxon’s positive remarks about Vietnam and bilateral ties and commended New Zealand’s foreign policy of valuing its engagement with Southeast Asia.
He expressed satisfaction with the trust-based political relationship between Vietnam and New Zealand, which serves as a foundation for comprehensive cooperation across various sectors.
He highly valued the outcomes of the talks between the two PMs, particularly the Joint Statement on upgrading bilateral relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, saying that this milestone reflects the remarkable progress and profound mutual trust between the two nations, providing a solid framework for their future development.
The General Secretary suggested that the two countries continue bolstering economic and trade collaboration, outlining specific strategies to enhance connectivity between their economies. He also praised New Zealand’s effective governance, strong economy, and advancements in science, technology and education - areas crucial to Vietnam’s growth.
Expressing gratitude to the New Zealand Government for providing scholarships for Vietnamese students, he noted that New Zealand is becoming an increasingly trusted and favored destination for Vietnamese students to study and conduct research.
Luxon, for his part, believed that under the sound leadership of General Secretary Lam and other leaders, Vietnam will successfully achieve its goal of becoming a developed country by 2045.
New Zealand, with its strengths, expects to accompany and support Vietnam in achieving its socio-economic development goals in the coming years, he said, expressing readiness to welcome more Vietnamese students, scientists, and researchers to the country for study and research, the leader said.
He also expressed desire to further boost coordination across tourism, trade and investment, connecting two countries’ business communities together.
Both leaders agreed on the future direction of the bilateral ties and believed that the newly established Comprehensive Strategic Partnership framework would bring great mutual benefits and contribute to global and regional peace and development.
They also consented to work closely together on global and regional issues. Lam thanked New Zealand for consistently supporting Vietnam and ASEAN's stance on the East Sea issue and affirmed that Vietnam is ready to support New Zealand in further strengthening ties with ASEAN, aiming to elevate the ASEAN-New Zealand Dialogue Relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
On the occasion, Luxon extended a formal invitation to Lam to visit New Zealand in the near future. The host thanked and assigned both sides to coordinate the arrangements through the diplomatic channel./.
