Can Tho (VNA) - Secretary of the Party Committee of the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho Nguyen Van Hieu hosted a reception for Ginny Chapman, Charge d'Affaires of the New Zealand Embassy in Vietnam, on April 5.

Hieu highlighted the growing relationship between Vietnam in general and Can Tho in particular with New Zealand over the years, expressing his hope that the two sides will conduct more practical activities to further promote the collaboration between Can Tho and New Zealand basing on each side's strengths.

Specifically, the two sides can expand cooperation in hi-tech agriculture and green, sustainable industry, as well as human resources training for the agricultural sector.

Can Tho also hopes for more scholarships from New Zealand, as well as stronger cooperation in renewable energy, information technology, green economy, circular economy, and real estate development, said Hieu.

To further promote bilateral cooperation, especially in the fields of agriculture, climate change, education and training, Can Tho plans to send a working delegation to New Zealand in September 2024, said the city leader.

The official held that the major obstacle facing the two sides currently is the modest number of direct flights from Vietnam to New Zealand, adding that the bottleneck should be removed to promote bilateral investment and tourism cooperation.

For her part, Chapman affirmed that Southeast Asia in general and Vietnam in particular are always a top priority in New Zealand's foreign affairs. For the Mekong Delta region, New Zealand is and will have more extensive cooperation in the agricultural sector.

Expressing her impression at the 1-million-hectare high quality rice field with low carbon emissions in Thanh An commune, Vinh Thanh district of Can Tho, she asserted that this achievement is resulted from efforts of many parties such as local authorities, organisations and farmers.

The diplomat said that responding to climate change and natural disaster risks is one of the pillars of cooperation between New Zealand and Vietnam, adding that the two sides are having good cooperation in education and research among institutes and schools. New Zealand hopes to connect more deeply with major research centres in Can Tho and will grant scholarships for state officials in areas of English training programmes and short-term training programmes, which will be rotated depending on the needs and requests from the Vietnamese side.

Statistics from the Can Tho Department of External Relations showed that last year, Can Tho exported 7.91 million USD worth of goods, mostly aquatic products, garments and farm produce, to New Zealand, while importing 7.6 million USD worth of products from the country./.