New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon emphasized his country’s readiness to welcome more Vietnamese students, scientists, and researchers during his meetings with top Vietnamese officials, including Party General Secretary To Lam and State President Luong Cuong, in Hanoi on Wednesday.

The meetings took place as part of PM Luxon’s official visit to Vietnam from Tuesday to Friday at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh.

Party chief Lam expressed appreciation for New Zealand’s commitment to fostering ties with Southeast Asia, emphasizing the historic upgrade of Vietnam-New Zealand relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

He called for deeper economic and trade collaboration, encouraging both nations to establish clear strategies to enhance economic connectivity.

Acknowledging New Zealand’s strong governance, advanced economy, and world-class education system, the Vietnamese Party leader highlighted the importance of educational cooperation and praised New Zealand for offering scholarships to Vietnamese students. 

He noted that New Zealand has become a preferred destination for Vietnamese students and researchers, contributing to deeper people-to-people ties between the two countries.

In response, PM Luxon reaffirmed New Zealand’s readiness to welcome more Vietnamese students, scientists, and researchers. 

The top New Zealand official also emphasized expanding cooperation in tourism, trade, investment, and business connectivity.

Both sides expressed strong confidence that the newly-established comprehensive strategic partnership would bring significant benefits, fostering peace and prosperity in the region and the world.

The two top leaders also exchanged views on regional and international issues, with Party chief Lam appreciating New Zealand’s support for Vietnam and ASEAN’s stance on the East Vietnam Sea.

He reaffirmed Vietnam’s support for New Zealand in promoting the latter’s ties with ASEAN and in elevating New Zealand-ASEAN relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership in the near future.

During his meeting with PM Luxon later that day, President Luong Cuong underscored New Zealand’s role as a reliable partner over the past 50 years. 

Cuong emphasized that elevating ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership would pave the way for broader cooperation in both bilateral and multilateral settings.

PM Luxon commended Vietnam’s robust growth and reiterated New Zealand’s commitment to deepening cooperation across various sectors.

Both leaders agreed to develop an action plan to implement the new partnership, committing to enhancing defense and security cooperation, particularly in military exchanges, countering non-traditional security threats, and intelligence-sharing.

President Cuong also thanked New Zealand for increasing the number of scholarships for Vietnamese students by 56 percent and encouraged continued collaboration in technology transfer and capacity building.

Both sides recognized shared perspectives on global challenges and pledged continued coordination in international forums, including the United Nations, APEC, and ASEAN-led mechanisms.

PM Luxon reaffirmed New Zealand’s full support for Vietnam’s role as the host of APEC 2027, signaling deeper engagement in global economic cooperation.

During both meetings, PM Luxon formally invited Party chief Lam to visit New Zealand, with the Party leader welcoming the invitation and instructing relevant agencies to arrange the visit.

Similarly, President Cuong extended an invitation to New Zealand’s Governor-General Cindy Kiro to visit Vietnam, while also accepting an invitation to visit New Zealand in return.

Earlier the same day, PM Chinh and PM Luxon reached an agreement to upgrade their countries' relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership, marking a new milestone in more than five decades of their diplomatic ties.

Vietnam and New Zealand established diplomatic ties in 1975, before upgrading them to a comprehensive partnership in 2009 and a strategic partnership in 2020.

Vietnam is now New Zealand’s 13th-largest trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching US$1.3 billion in 2023 and 2024.

New Zealand ranks 39th among foreign investors in Vietnam, with 55 projects totaling $208 million.

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