Vietnam is a valued partner for New Zealand in the region and NewZealand welcomes the cooperation with Vietnam given her important rolein ASEAN, Prime Minister John Key has said.
The NZPM has evaluated the two countries’ relations and talked about itsprospect when replying to the Vietnam News Agency’s related questions onthe occasion of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s official visit to NewZealand on March 19-20.
Following is Prime Minister Key’s full responses.
“Q: Vietnam and New Zealand established diplomatic relations 40 yearsago. What is your assessment of the Comprehensive Partnershiprelationship between New Zealand and Vietnam?
Firstly I’d like to recognise those 40 years of friendship and say howpleased I am to welcome Prime Minister Dung and his ministers to NewZealand. I think the fact that such a large delegation of more than 100people including senior business leaders is coming to New Zealand withPrime Minister Dung is testament to the depth of friendship sharedbetween our two countries and the optimism that we hold for thatrelationship going forward.
And lookingat what we have achieved over the past 40 years we have every reason tobe so optimistic. Over recent years that relationship has gone fromstrength to strength, particularly since our Comprehensive Partnershipwas agreed in 2009. We’ve seen a significant boost in trade -including 120 percent growth in two-way merchandise trade in the pastfive years alone, as well as deepening cooperation in other importantareas including agriculture, education, development assistance, and ourdefence relationship. We are also important regional partners workingtogether on a range of issues.
PrimeMinister Dung’s visit provides us with an excellent opportunity to lookto the future, and consider how we can further enhance our ComprehensivePartnership over the next five years.
Q: What do you think about the prospects for New Zealand-Vietnamrelations? What should Vietnam and New Zealand do to developbilateral relations to a higher level?
I think there are opportunities for expansion in many areas which willgreatly benefit both countries. We are already on track to meet ourgoal of 1 billion USD in total two-way trade by the end of 2015. Givenrecent growth rates I think we can be more ambitious and we shouldbe looking to increase this level significantly over the next fiveyears. What will help with that is the fact we are partners in the TPPnegotiations which are nearing conclusion. The TPP will deepen tiesbetween our countries and those around the negotiating table by openingup trade in goods and services, boosting investment flows, and promotingcloser links across a range issues.
Education, agriculture, aviation, tourism and food safety are all areaswhere we have seen success which we can build on. Education particularlyis a key part of the relationship bringing together New Zealand’scapacity to offer a world class education with Vietnam’s desire toup-skill its workforce. Those education links also allow New Zealandersand Vietnamese to forge long-term friendships and foster greaterunderstanding of each other’s countries and cultures. This in turn helpscreate further business and cultural links and opportunities. Aviationprovides vital links necessary for other parts of the relationshipincluding trade, education, tourism and I’m very pleased the twocountries will sign an updated Air Services Agreement during PrimeMinister Dung’s visit. New Zealand’s food safety credentials are alsoamongst the best in the world and we look forward to signing a FoodSafety Cooperation Arrangement during the visit. This will deepen ourcooperation in this critical area.
Q: Howimportant is the cooperation between New Zealand and Vietnam in order tobring prosperity and maintain peace, security and stability in theregion and world as well?
Vietnamis a valued partner for New Zealand in the region and we welcome thecooperation we have with Vietnam given its important role within ASEAN.Our two countries work together closely in many regional forums,including APEC, the ASEAN Regional Forum, ASEAN Defence MinistersMeeting Plus process, and the East Asia Summit. We also have a positivedefence cooperation relationship, particularly with respect to Englishlanguage training and peacekeeping. Peace and security is essential forprosperity, and it is important that all countries in the region worktogether to build understanding and to maintain stability.-VNA
The NZPM has evaluated the two countries’ relations and talked about itsprospect when replying to the Vietnam News Agency’s related questions onthe occasion of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s official visit to NewZealand on March 19-20.
Following is Prime Minister Key’s full responses.
“Q: Vietnam and New Zealand established diplomatic relations 40 yearsago. What is your assessment of the Comprehensive Partnershiprelationship between New Zealand and Vietnam?
Firstly I’d like to recognise those 40 years of friendship and say howpleased I am to welcome Prime Minister Dung and his ministers to NewZealand. I think the fact that such a large delegation of more than 100people including senior business leaders is coming to New Zealand withPrime Minister Dung is testament to the depth of friendship sharedbetween our two countries and the optimism that we hold for thatrelationship going forward.
And lookingat what we have achieved over the past 40 years we have every reason tobe so optimistic. Over recent years that relationship has gone fromstrength to strength, particularly since our Comprehensive Partnershipwas agreed in 2009. We’ve seen a significant boost in trade -including 120 percent growth in two-way merchandise trade in the pastfive years alone, as well as deepening cooperation in other importantareas including agriculture, education, development assistance, and ourdefence relationship. We are also important regional partners workingtogether on a range of issues.
PrimeMinister Dung’s visit provides us with an excellent opportunity to lookto the future, and consider how we can further enhance our ComprehensivePartnership over the next five years.
Q: What do you think about the prospects for New Zealand-Vietnamrelations? What should Vietnam and New Zealand do to developbilateral relations to a higher level?
I think there are opportunities for expansion in many areas which willgreatly benefit both countries. We are already on track to meet ourgoal of 1 billion USD in total two-way trade by the end of 2015. Givenrecent growth rates I think we can be more ambitious and we shouldbe looking to increase this level significantly over the next fiveyears. What will help with that is the fact we are partners in the TPPnegotiations which are nearing conclusion. The TPP will deepen tiesbetween our countries and those around the negotiating table by openingup trade in goods and services, boosting investment flows, and promotingcloser links across a range issues.
Education, agriculture, aviation, tourism and food safety are all areaswhere we have seen success which we can build on. Education particularlyis a key part of the relationship bringing together New Zealand’scapacity to offer a world class education with Vietnam’s desire toup-skill its workforce. Those education links also allow New Zealandersand Vietnamese to forge long-term friendships and foster greaterunderstanding of each other’s countries and cultures. This in turn helpscreate further business and cultural links and opportunities. Aviationprovides vital links necessary for other parts of the relationshipincluding trade, education, tourism and I’m very pleased the twocountries will sign an updated Air Services Agreement during PrimeMinister Dung’s visit. New Zealand’s food safety credentials are alsoamongst the best in the world and we look forward to signing a FoodSafety Cooperation Arrangement during the visit. This will deepen ourcooperation in this critical area.
Q: Howimportant is the cooperation between New Zealand and Vietnam in order tobring prosperity and maintain peace, security and stability in theregion and world as well?
Vietnamis a valued partner for New Zealand in the region and we welcome thecooperation we have with Vietnam given its important role within ASEAN.Our two countries work together closely in many regional forums,including APEC, the ASEAN Regional Forum, ASEAN Defence MinistersMeeting Plus process, and the East Asia Summit. We also have a positivedefence cooperation relationship, particularly with respect to Englishlanguage training and peacekeeping. Peace and security is essential forprosperity, and it is important that all countries in the region worktogether to build understanding and to maintain stability.-VNA
