Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has welcomed Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives (Parliament) Gerry Brownlee’s ongoing Vietnam visit, which coincided with the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties.
During a reception in Hanoi on August 28 for the New Zealand guest, PM Chinh praised the substantive and comprehensive progress in bilateral ties since the upgrade to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during New Zealand PM Christopher Luxon’s official visit to Vietnam in February 2025, saying that it opens up a new chapter in their relations.
He thanked New Zealand for its active support during Vietnam’s development, and urged both sides to translate high-level agreements into concrete actions, ensuring cooperation grows in line with the new framework.
Brownlee, for his part, thanked PM Chinh for his backing of bilateral ties, hailing Vietnam as a key partner.
The New Zealand Government and Parliament prioritise strengthening relations with Vietnam as part of the country’s wider policy towards the region, he said, pledging strong parliamentary backing for all-around cooperation.
He agreed with the host’s five proposed major orientations to deepen ties. These include strengthening political and diplomatic relations through more high-level visits, exchanges, and bilateral cooperation mechanisms, while realising signed agreements effectively; crafting an economic connectivity strategy, hastening the signing of trade and investment pacts, and easing market access for agricultural products from both countries, toward achieving a two-way trade of 3 billion USD in 2026; deploying joint work in emerging areas such as green and digital economies, digital transformation, sci-tech and innovation, climate change; advancing national defence-security ties, and the United Nations peacekeeping.
According to him, Vietnam and New Zealand share common interests in maintaining multilateral trade and undisrupted supply chains, which underpin stable growth and prosperity globally. He also spoke highly of the Vietnamese community’s contributions in New Zealand.
Both leaders agreed to expand cooperation in education-training, student and researcher exchanges, and considered establishing a direct air link to boost tourism, trade and people-to-people ties.
Amid an increasingly complex global and regional landscapes, they underlined the need for closer consultations, information sharing and policy coordination. The two countries pledged to work together at international and regional forums to contribute to a peaceful, stable and prosperous Asia-Pacific, while supporting New Zealand’s deeper engagement with ASEAN./.
