Vietnamese PM meets with Speaker of New Zealand Parliament

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (L) and Speaker of the New Zealand Parliament Gerry Brownlee at their meeting in Wellington on March 11. (Photo: VNA)

Wellington (VNA) – Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinhmet with Speaker of the New Zealand Parliament Gerry Brownlee inWellington on March 11 afternoon (local time) as part of his official visit tothe South Pacific nation.

Congratulating Brownlee on being elected Speaker of theNew Zealand Parliament, PM Chinh expressed his belief that the country will becomeincreasingly prosperous and secure a growing stature in the region and theworld, with the New Zealand Parliament playing an important role.

Speaker Brownlee voiced his delight at the progress of thefriendship and cooperation in various areas between the two countries.

Both host and guest agreed to exert joint efforts to makenew breakthroughs in labour and education - training cooperation.

Speaker Brownlee pledged to promote the granting of long-term visasfor Vietnamese citizens. He highly valued the Vietnamese community’s considerablecontributions to New Zealand and the bilateral relations. He also agreed toincrease people-to-people exchanges and cultural cooperation to help strengthenthe friendship and bonds between the two nations' people.

PM Chinh suggested the two sides continue increasing mutualvisits, especially those at the high level; create conditions for their specialtyfruits, including banana and passion fruits of Vietnam and kiwi and cherry ofNew Zealand, to enter each other’s markets; foster navigation and aviationconnectivity; and step up cultural ties and people-to-people interactions.

The meeting between Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Speaker of the New Zealand Parliament Gerry Brownlee in Wellington on March 11. (Photo: VNA)

Meanwhile, the two countries’ legislative bodies should continue bringing intoplay their roles in further strengthening the Vietnam - New Zealand Strategic Partnership; share experience in resolving national issues, buildinglaw-governed states, and exercising supreme supervision; create legal frameworksto assist their respective governments; and work together to promote theimplementation of the signed cooperation agreements, he recommended.

The two leaders agreed to facilitate experience exchanges betweenthe parliaments’ committees, parliamentary friendship groups, femaleparliamentarians, and young parliamentarians in not only traditional fields butalso new ones such as climate change response, just energy transition, digitaltransformation, and digital economy.

At the meeting, they also touched upon some regional andinternational issues of shared concern. They agreed that Vietnam and NewZealand will support each other at international organisations, including theUnited Nations, ASEAN-led mechanisms, and multilateral parliamentary forums./.

VNA