VN, NZ agree to lift relationship to comprehensive partnership

On Thursday morning, a solemn ceremony, hosted by PM Key John and Speaker of the House of Representatives Lockwood Smith, was held in Wellington to greet Việt Nam’s top leader, Party General Secretary Nông Đức Mạnh.

In the high-ranking talk later, the host PM, Mr. John Key confirmed New Zealand’s consistent policy to enhance multifaceted cooperation with Việt Nam.

He reiterated the commitment to the development assistance and Poverty Reduction Support Credit (PRSC) programs for Việt Nam in the coming years and to continuing cooperation projects on education and training.

General Secretary Nông Đức Mạnh highly spoke of New Zealand’s support and assistance for Việt Nam’s development.

The leaders agreed to promote visit exchanges at different levels of society and facilitate people-to-people links.

They were also unanimous to raise the two-way trade turnover, boost economic cooperation in such fields as construction, mining, light industries, processing industries, finance and other services.

The two sides pledged to create more favorable conditions for their investors and speed up projects under the ASEAN–Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement.

The leaders also shared views of many regional and international issues of common concern, underlining the necessity to consolidate the Việt Nam–New Zealand collaboration on regional and international forums like the UN, EAS, APEC, ARF, especially when Việt Nam become the Chair of ASEAN next year.

By Xuân Hồng