Hanoi (VNA) – New Zealand Ambassador to Vietnam Tredene Dobson hashighlighted the significance of the visit by National Assembly Chairman VuongDinh Hue from December 3-7, saying that she believes it will further demonstratethe mutually beneficial nature of the bilateral relationship and of coursefurther advance the relationship in key areas.

Following is the full text of the interview granted to Vietnam News Agency.

Reporter: Ambassador, couldyou please share on the significance of the National Assembly Chairman VuongDinh Hue in the context of the thriving Vietnam – New Zealand StrategicPartnership after 45 years of diplomatic relations (1975-2020) and back-to-backwith Vietnam visit of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern?

Ambassador: It ishugely significant to have back-to-back high-level visits like this and I thinkit speaks volumes of the state of the relationship between Vietnam and NewZealand. Leaders in both countries have witnessed the expanding ties betweenour countries and have clearly see the massive potential to grow further still.The leadership has been critical in opening doors and forging connections invarious sectors. For example, the education and business delegationsaccompanying Chairman Hue will be key to amplifying in New Zealand some of themessages that were delivered during Prime Minister Ardern’s visit here.

Overall, I believe the upcoming visit will further demonstrate the mutuallybeneficial nature of the bilateral relationship and of course further advancethe relationship in key areas, namely inter-parliamentary, business tobusiness, and people-to-people links.

Reporter: How does Your Excellency viewabout the role of inter-parliamentary cooperation in the bilateral relationsbetween Vietnam – New Zealand?

Ambassador: The National Assembly of Vietnam and New ZealandParliament have had a strong relationship for a number of years thanks to manytwo-way exchanges. And I’m please to say that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, ahigh level cooperation and engagement has continued. Only one week after theStrategic Partnership elevation, former National Assembly Chairwoman HE MsNguyen Thi Kim Ngan, and former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt HonTrevor Mallard, had a phone call to review parliamentary cooperation in thecontext of the Strategic Partnership.

Chairman Hue’s visit is therefore an important next milestone in thatcollaboration.

The Vietnam – NewZealand Parliamentary Friendship Group has also been playing a vital role inmaintaining the connection between the National Assembly and the New ZealandParliament. Members of the group act as ambassadors for the parliamentaryrelationship both at central and local levels. The connection between the twoParliaments is further strengthened through people-to-people links. Many officials of theNational Assembly have brought back good memories of NewZealand, and enhanced English language, as a result of New Zealand’s EnglishLanguage Training Programme for Officials (ELTO). This programme –which has been in place for a number of decades now - has really helped tobuild an understanding of New Zealand within Viet Nam’s National Assembly.

On multilateral issues, both Parliaments have been cooperating closely andeffectively in multilateral platforms on gender equality and sustainabledevelopment, contributing to the success of Vietnam’sASEAN and AIPA 2020Chairmanship,  and New Zealand’s hostingof APEC 2021.

As the National Assembly is the highest representative of Vietnamesepeople, these inter-parliamentary ties also represent and contribute to enhancingthe relationship between our two peoples. The understanding of the laws,regulations and cultures of both peoples have been enhanced thanks to theseregular exchanges in both bilateral and multilateral channels in the past fewyears.

Reporter: New Zealand and Vietnam aretargeting 2 billion USD two-way trade by 2024. What does Your Excellency thinkour two Parliaments should do to contribute to the achievement of the abovetargets as well as leverage the bilateral and multilateral free tradeagreements that both countries are members to?

Ambassador: The National Assembly of Vietnam and the Parliamentof New Zealand both play an important role in the socio-economic development ofour countries and our economies. Both parliaments have committees or workinggroups that focus on economic development – including things like innovation,business-to-business development, technology and commerce. I expect there to beplenty of engagement during Chairman Hue’s visit on these sorts of issues andsharing knowledge and experience around how our respective parliaments engagewith them.  

In Vietnam, the National Assembly has a critical functionin assessing and approving the joining of free trade agreements and regionaleconomic mechanisms such as the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). As Vietnam and New Zealandboth champion free and open trade, I think we can also expect a lot of discussionaround how to best leverage our trade relationship under the framework of theseFTAs and economic frameworks.

Another point forfurther collaboration in our parliamentary ties is the inclusive trade agenda, throughwhich both New Zealand and Vietnam want to make sureour economic growth can benefit the well-being of all members of ourcommunities, including the indigenous Maori people in New Zealand and ethnicminority groups in Vietnam./.