Hanoi (VNA) – The upcoming official visit to New Zealand by Nguyen Trong Nghia, Politburo member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, and head of the committee’s Commission for Information, Education, and Mass Mobilisation carries very important significance, said Vietnamese Ambassador to New Zealand Phan Minh Giang.
This will be the first visit by a Politburo member since the two countries elevated their ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in February 2025. It comes shortly after the successful official visit to Vietnam by New Zealand Parliament Speaker Gerry Brownlee in late August.
The September 22-25 visit takes place as both nations are preparing a series of activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2025. Giang stressed that it demonstrates the strong political trust between the two sides and their shared commitment to deepening cooperation. New Zealand, he noted, attaches great i-mportance to the visit and will host Nghia as a guest of the Government.
During the trip, Nghia is expected to meet the Speaker of the New Zealand Parliament, have working sessions with cabinet ministers in charge of higher education and climate change, and work with the leadership of Victoria University of Wellington and Auckland University of Technology.
While in New Zealand, Nghia will meet with embassy staff, representatives of the Vietnamese community, and students. He will also attend a ceremony marking the 80th National Day of Vietnam, organised by the Vietnamese Embassy.
Giang emphasised that such activities reflect the care of the Party and State for overseas Vietnamese, who are considered an inseparable part of the nation. He said the meetings would help strengthen bonds between Vietnamese living in New Zealand and their homeland, keeping them updated on the country’s development and inspiring them to contribute to national progress.
Education-training has long been a highlight in Vietnam–New Zealand relations. Since 1992, hundreds of Vietnamese officials and students have studied in New Zealand through government scholarships and training programmes. Many have returned home to make important contributions to Vietnam’s development.
Giang said the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership framework, established in February 2025, confirms that education will remain a key pillar of cooperation. It also opens new opportunities to expand joint programmes, ranging from academic exchanges to capacity-building and professional training.
As part of the visit, Nghia will work with New Zealand’s Minister for Tertiary Education and leaders of several major universities, including Victoria University of Wellington and Auckland University of Technology. He is also scheduled to meet and encourage Vietnamese students studying at Victoria University, which hosts one of the largest number of Vietnamese students in New Zealand.
According to the ambassador, these practical activities will help make educational cooperation deeper and more effective, with diverse forms of collaboration such as joint training programmes, knowledge exchange, and attractive scholarship opportunities. They also align with Vietnam’s new Resolution 71 on breakthroughs in education and training development, issued on August 22, 2025.
Vietnam is currently New Zealand’s 12th largest trading partner. Two-way trade reached 1.3 billion USD in 2024, and in the first half of 2025 alone, it topped 700 million USD, an increase of nearly 19% from the same period last year. New Zealand now has 57 investment projects in Vietnam worth almost 210 million USD, while Vietnamese investors have 12 projects in New Zealand valued at 44 million USD. New Zealand also provides Vietnam with stable official development assistance (ODA).
Cooperation in education, agriculture, and labour has brought encouraging results. Both sides are also stepping up joint work in new areas such as climate change response, energy transition, and defense and security.
The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) maintains good relations with both the National Party and the Labour Party of New Zealand, mainly through correspondence and exchanges. Leaders of the two New Zealand parties have also sought meetings with the CPV General Secretary during their visits./.
VNA
