Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh arrived in Auckland on Saturday evening (local time), beginning his first official visit to New Zealand since assuming power in 2021 at the invitation of his New Zealand counterpart Christopher Luxon.

The two-day visit, which takes place ahead of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam-New Zealand diplomatic ties in 2025, will enable both sides to discuss measures for tightening their ties and make preparations for the upcoming celebration.

PM Chinh, his spouse, and his entourage were welcomed at Auckland Airport by New Zealand Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee, Ambassador Designate to Vietnam Caroline Beresford, Vietnamese Ambassador to New Zealand Nguyen Van Trung, and staff members of the Vietnamese Embassy.

The two countries’ leaders will discuss measures to bolster the Vietnam-New Zealand bilateral ties in various fields such as trade, investment, people-to-people exchange, labor affairs, education and training, and agriculture, according to Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Do Hung Viet.

Vietnamese people in New Zealand welcome Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his spouse, New Zealand, March 9, 2023. Photo: Duong Giang

Vietnam is New Zealand’s 14th-largest trading partner, with two-way trade in 2023 hitting US$1.3 billion.

The figure is expected to surpass $2 billion this year.

The Southeast Asian country ranks 13th among the top countries exporting their products to New Zealand, shipping mobile phones and phone parts, computers, electronic items and accessories, fishery products, cashew nuts, and footwear to the latter.

Vietnam is also the 17th-biggest buyer of New Zealand items like milk and dairy products, fruits, wood, garments and textiles, and others.

By November 2023, investors from New Zealand had 52 valid projects worth more than $208 million in Vietnam, mostly in the fields of real estate, education and training, manufacturing and processing.

New Zealand has provided a stable and increased amount of official development assistance (ODA) loans for Vietnam, adding that it pledged to offer $16.2 million of non-refundable ODA loans to Vietnam between July 1, 2021 and July 30, 2024.

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