Vietnam, New Zealand boost cooperation

      A delegation from New Zealand’s Parliament, led by its Speaker, Lockwood Smith, will pay an official visit to Vietnam from April 15-19 at the invitation of National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong.
Vietnam and New Zealand first established diplomatic relations on June 19, 1975. The latter opened its embassy in Hanoi in November 1995, while the former opened its embassy in Wellington in February 2003.
Bilateral ties between the two countries have continued to develop positively over the years, particularly in terms of politics, economics, trade, investment, education, training and tourism.
Vietnam and New Zealand have also continued exchanging high-ranking delegations. Former Prime Minister Phan Van Khai’s visit in November 2005, and State President Nguyen Minh Triet’s visit in July 2007 were landmarks in their bilateral friendship.
The two nations have signed several economic-trade and investment agreements, including an agreement on economic and trade cooperation, an agreement to encourage and safeguard investment, and an another concerning aviation.
Two-way trade between the two countries increased from US$187 million in 2001 to US$ 313 million in 2008. New Zealand primarily exports agricultural products such as cheese, milk, chemicals, and cattle-feed to Vietnam, while it imports footwear, furniture, ceramics, garments, and cashew nuts.
On February 28, 2009, New Zealand signed a document officially recognising Vietnam’s market economy. It also penned an agreement to recruit 300 Vietnamese workers.
New Zealand has invested in 14 projects with a total registered capital of US$50 million in Vietnam, primarily in wood processing, mineral exploration and exploitation, beverage production, milk processing, handicrafts, construction and building materials as well as hotels and restaurants.
The majority of New Zealand-invested projects are located in Son La, Binh Dinh, and Binh Duong provinces and HCM City.
New Zealand has officially provided non-refundable aid to Vietnam since 1995, prioritising human resources development, agricultural and rural development, and health and state management. The volume of aid has continuously increased over the years, reaching US$7.4 million in the 2008-2009 fiscal year.
The country’s several official development assistance (ODA) projects in Vietnam have produced good results.
New Zealand is now home to around 1,500 Vietnamese students. The country’s Victoria University and Auckland University of Technology (AUT) have recently started working with several Vietnamese universities, including the Hanoi University of Technology, the Hanoi University of Foreign Languages, the Quy Nhon University and the Ho Chi Minh City National University.
The relationship between Vietnam and New Zealand’s Parliaments has strengthened constantly in recent years, which was marked by the then National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Van An’s visit to New Zealand in July 2004. The 12th Vietnamese National Assembly established the Vietnam-Australia and New Zealand Friendship Parliamentarians’ Group and then the New Zealand-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentarians’ Group was formed in July 2007.
The two countries’ parliaments have worked together closely and effectively at regional and international inter-parliamentary forums.
New Zealand appreciates Vietnam’s role and position in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and hopes that the country will act as a link between New Zealand and the bloc.
New Zealand has always supported and cooperated with Vietnam at multilateral forums, including the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). It backed Vietnam to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in the 2008-2009 term.
The Parliamentary Speaker’s visit to Vietnam is expected to take bilateral ties to a new level for the benefits of the two countries’ people and for the sake of peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world at large.