The advantages of Vietnam and New Zealand are supplementary, which is a foundation for their organizations and enterprises to foster cooperation in the research, production, and processing of farm produce, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said during his visit to the Plant and Food Research Centre (PFR) in Auckland on Sunday.

This is part of his visit to New Zealand through Monday.

The Vietnamese government leader spoke highly of the institute's research achievements and the results of its cooperation with Vietnam.

PFR has cooperated with Vietnam in a US$3.3-million project to develop passion fruit for export conducted in Son La Province, northern Vietnam and the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai in 2023-27.

The center is also working on a dragon fruit project in Vietnam in which three new dragon fruit varieties have been created.

PM Chinh voiced his wish that the two countries would promote their cooperation achievements, tighten the collaboration in potential sectors, and create breakthroughs in agricultural cooperation, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

With a population of just over five million people, New Zealand is a selective market, and entering it can serve as a testament to the quality of Vietnamese agricultural products.

“Agriculture is an important pillar in the two nations’ bilateral trade relations,” Wendy Hinton, acting Ambassador of New Zealand to Vietnam, affirmed in an interview ahead of the prime minister’s trip.

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

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 and is the 17th-biggest buyer of the latter’s items.

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