Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc had a meeting with New Zealand’s Speaker of the House of Representatives Trevor Mallard on March 13 during which both leaders agreed that the two countries’ legislations should maintain traditional cooperation and close coordination at international and regional parliamentary forums.

New Zealand’s Speaker of the House of Representatives Trevor Mallard presented a gift to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at their meeting in Auckland on March 13.

PM Phuc and Speaker Mallard expressed their delight at the development of Vietnam – New Zealand relations in recent years, notably the two-way trade which is likely to hit 1.7–2 billion USD in 2020.

They agreed to soon upgrade the bilateral ties to the level of Strategic Partnership and held that the two nations must step up practical and specific measures to boost cooperation in the fields of trade, investment, tourism, aviation connectivity and people-to-people exchanges.

The two leaders stressed the need for the two parliaments to increase the exchange of high-level visits and coordinate together in supervising the implementation of the two countries’ agreements.

Mallard, who initiated the Vietnam–New Zealand educational agreement, said that New Zealand wants to attract more Vietnamese students to study in areas of its strength like information technology, biotechnology and hospitality.

He expressed his admiration for Vietnam’s important achievements in socio-economic development and implementation of foreign policy in the recent past.

The Speaker said he was pleased with the outcomes of the earlier talks between PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his NZ counterpart Jacinda Ardern, believing that these positive results would lay an important foundation for bilateral relations to develop more strongly in the coming time.

PM Phuc conveyed Chairwoman of the Vietnamese National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan’s invitation to Mallard to visit Vietnam at a convenient time. Meanwhile, Mallard reiterated his invitation to Ngan to pay a visit to New Zealand soon.

After the meeting, PM Phuc and his entourage attended a banquet hosted by Speaker Mallard.

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc is on an official visit to New Zealand from March 12-14. In the morning of March 13, he was welcomed by New Zealand’s traditional Maori greeting and a 19-gun salute during an official ceremony chaired by New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern in Auckland city.

Following the ceremony, PM Phuc and PM Ardern held talks. At the end of the talks, the PMs witnessed the signing of three important documents, including an agreement between Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade and New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade on economic and trade cooperation; a deal between Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade and New Zealand’s Ministry of Primary Industries on cooperation in food safety and quality management; a strategic cooperation plan between Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training and New Zealand educational agency on education and training for 2018-2020.

PM holds phone talk with New Zealand’s Governor-General

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc talks on phone with Governor-General of New Zealand Dame Patsy Reddy. 

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc affirmed that Vietnam always treasures and wants to bolster ties with New Zealand during his phone call with Governor-General of New Zealand Dame Patsy Reddy on March 13.

Informing the NZ leader of the outcomes of his talks with PM Jacinda Ardern, the Vietnamese leader expressed his delight over the sound developments in the two nations’ cooperation in the bilateral framework as well as at regional and international forums, especially after both sides reached consensus on advancing the comprehensive partnership toward the strategic partnership.

He noted that political trust and mutual understanding have been consolidated through the exchanges of high-ranking delegations, thanked New Zealand for backing Vietnam in the organisation of APEC Vietnam 2017 in Da Nang and committed to sharing experience with New Zealand when the country hosts the event in 2021.

The Governor-General of New Zealand, for her part, lauded the outcomes of the talks between the two Prime Ministers, which gave out a line-up of orientations to lift up the bilateral ties to a new height.

She agreed that both sides need to channel focus on education cooperation, which helps enhance mutual understanding and promote people-to-people exchanges.

Due to the pre-set working agenda, the Governor-General could not have a meeting with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

On the occasion, PM Phuc delivered President Tran Dai Quang’s invitation to visit Vietnam to Dame Patsy.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his spouse are on an official visit to New Zealand from March 12-14 at the invitations of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc suggests more VN-NZ direct flights

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) and Chairman of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Neil Quigley 

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc underscored the significance of strengthening aviation connectivity between Vietnam and New Zealand, suggesting opening more direct flights to facilitate bilateral trade and tourism, which are growing. 

He was speaking to the executives of several major corporations of New Zealand on March 13 during his three-day trip starting from a day earlier. 

Meeting Neil Quigley, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, the PM lauded the bank’s role in managing inflation, maintaining macro-economic stability and growth momentum in New Zealand over the past years. 

He suggested the reserve bank share experience with the State Bank of Vietnam in regulating exchange rates, building macro-economic policies and improving the capacity of banking staff. 

The Vietnamese leader hailed the signing of a strategic partnership contract between Vietnam’s Sovico Jsc and New Zealand Trade Centre covering trade, investment, tourism, and aviation connectivity while meeting Adam Martin, President of NZ Trade Centre.

Hosting a reception for Mat Mowbray, the founder and CEO of Zuru Building and Construction Company, the PM said the company’s proposed construction of prefabricated houses using new materials in Vietnam suits the Vietnamese government’s foreign investment attraction policy. 

He vowed to direct the Ministry of Planning and Investment to help the company seek proper locations for the project. 

In a reception for Vice Chancellor of Auckland University of Technology (AUT) Derek McCormack, the government leader spoke highly of close collaboration between AUT and Vietnam over the past 25 years, especially the training courses affiliated with major universities in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City as well as short-term training courses for high-ranking officials in Quang Ninh, Ca Mau, and Ho Chi Minh City. 

The PM asked the university to provide support for nearly 400 Vietnamese students studying there, saying that the students will serve as important messengers to increase the number of Vietnamese students in New Zealand and AUT in particular, contributing to boosting people-to-people exchange between the two nations, especially young generations. 

The AUT Vice Chancellor promised to discuss with Vietnamese partners to expand collaboration in vocational training and improving capacity of lecturers in domestic and foreign colleges and universities.-

VNA