NZ PM hosts welcoming ceremony for Vietnamese counterpart

VGP - New Zealand's PM Jacinda Andern hosted a welcoming ceremony for Vietnamese PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc who is on a three-day official visit to the Oceania country.

March 13, 2018 9:36 AM GMT+7

After the welcome ceremony, the two PMs will hold bilateral talks to discuss ways to further deepen the comprehensive partnership between the two countries.

The following are pictures from the welcoming ceremony:

Viet Nam and New Zealand established diplomatic relations on June 19, 1975 and then elevated the bilateral ties to comprehensive partnership in 2009. Photo: VGP

Both sides signed an action plan for the period of 2017-2020 last year, which covers politics, defense and security, economy, trade, investment, agriculture, education, science and technology, development cooperation, people-to-people exchanges, and coordination at regional and international forums..Photo: VGP

Viet Nam is New Zealand’s 16^th biggest trade partner. Over the past five years, the two-way trade value increased by 15-20%, reaching US$1.2 billion last year.Photo: VGP

The two countries agreed to raise the trade figure to US$1.7 billion by 2020, which is within reach, according to Vietnamese Ambassador to New Zealand Nguyen Viet Dung. Photo: VGP

The two countries have signed the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), in which member economies account for 13.5 percent of world GDP – worth a total of US$10 trillion. Photo: VGP

By Ngoc Van