Viet Nam and New Zealand leaders witness bilateral cooperation exchange

Speaking at a press meeting, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon expressed his pleasure at welcoming General Secretary and President To Lam and the high-level Viet Namese delegation, affirming that General Secretary and President To Lam’s State visit to New Zealand had once again achieved highly positive results, contributing to making the friendship between the two countries increasingly substantive and effective, Viet Nam News Agency (VNA) reported.

Expressing his admiration for Viet Nam’s socio-economic development achievements in recent years, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon affirmed that Viet Nam-New Zealand relations have continued to grow stronger, with substantive cooperation in many areas. The two countries are also expanding cooperation in such fields as education and agriculture, creating new momentum for bilateral relations.

Looking ahead, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon expressed hope that more businesses from both countries would invest and establish successful partnerships in each other’s markets, particularly in areas such as high-quality human resource development and training, science and technology development, agriculture, and the environment.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon spoke highly of the central role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Viet Nam’s influence in the region. He affirmed that the highly successful visit had helped shape Viet Nam-New Zealand relations for decades to come.

Speaking at the press meeting, General Secretary and President To Lam expressed his sincere thanks to the Prime Minister and people of New Zealand for extending a warm and friendly welcome to the high-level Vietnamese delegation.

Agricultural and environmental cooperation, together with science and technology, is an important pillar that aligns with the development goals of both countries. The two sides agreed to promote a green, low-emission economy, enhance climate change adaptation, and develop exemplary models of cooperation in agriculture and sustainable development. Viet Nam highly appreciates New Zealand’s practical and effective support for climate-resilient agriculture in the Mekong Delta.

The two sides agreed to strengthen coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums; contribute to building an inclusive, rules-based international order; consolidate a peaceful and secure environment conducive to development; and promote the settlement of disputes by peaceful means in accordance with international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982).

Appreciating New Zealand’s role and positive contributions to regional and international mechanisms, General Secretary and President To Lam affirmed that Viet Nam supports efforts to develop ASEAN-New Zealand relations in a substantive and effective manner and to uphold ASEAN’s central role.

On the occasion, General Secretary and President To Lam and New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon witnessed the exchange of cooperation documents between ministries and agencies of the two countries, including: an Implementing Arrangement on Peacekeeping Cooperation between the Ministry of National Defence of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam and the New Zealand Ministry of Defence and New Zealand Defence Force; an Education Cooperation Agreement between Viet Nam’s Ministry of Education and Training and New Zealand’s Ministry of Education; a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Agriculture and Environment between Viet Nam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries; a package of market access agreements between New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries and Viet Nam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Environment; and letters on announced grants for the CGIAR Asian Mega-Deltas Initiative and the ASEAN Climate-Resilient Smart Agriculture Initiative.