Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh left Hanoi on Sept. 6, beginning official visits to Australia and New Zealand.

The visits are made at the invitations of Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key.

The Party leader is accompanied by a high-ranking delegation, including Pham Gia Khiem, Party politburo member, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister; Ngo Van Du, Party Central Committee’s Secretary and Chief of the Party Central Committee’s Office; and Hoang Binh Quan, Chairman of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for External Affairs.

Vo Hong Phuc, Minister of Planning and Investment; Vu Huy Hoang, Minister of Industry and Trade; and Pham Vu Luan, Deputy Minister of Education and Training also joined the delegation./.