Hanoi (VNA) – The freshly-ended tripto Australia and New Zealand by National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue helpedstrengthen cooperation between the legislative bodies of Vietnam and the twocountries, contributing to promoting bilateral partnership in variousfields as well as coordination at regional and international parliamentaryforums, said Chairman of the NA Committee for External Relations Vu Hai Ha.

Ha said that during the top legislator’s visit to Australia, the two sidesdiscussed various issues in the bilateral strategic partnership, from politics,diplomacy to defence, security, trade, investment, education-training, tourismand people-to-people exchange.

Particularly, the Vietnamese NA leader underlined that labour cooperation is apriority of Vietnam, stressing that Vietnam is willing to send holiday workersto Australia. Alongside, the two sides also agreed to promote cooperation inissues of global concern such as digital transformation, climate change andjust energy transition, said Ha.

He said that Vietnam and Australia also shared commoninterest in peace, security and cooperation in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region,including the ASEAN and the Mekong sub-region.

Ha said that regarding parliamentary cooperation, the two sides signed a newcooperation agreement on the promotion of their ties in the new period afterlifting up their ties from a comprehensive partnership to a strategicpartnership, while affirming their commitments to working together towards astrategic comprehensive partnership.

NA Chairman Hue emphasised that political and diplomatic relationship is afoundation, while the trade and investment cooperation is a motivation, and thepeople-to-people contact is a catalyst for the promotion of theVietnam-Australia relations to a new height in the time to come.

The two sides shared interest to discuss the contents of the bilateralrelations on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the bilateraldiplomatic ties in 2023.

Meanwhile, during his visit to New Zealand, the first by a Vietnamese NA leaderto New Zealand after 18 years, Chairman Hue had various high-levelactivities, including talks with his counterpart, and a meeting with the Governor-Generalof New Zealand.

Vietnam is the only strategic partnership of New Zealand inSoutheast Asia, he said, adding that the bilateral relations have been promotedstrongly, especially in economy, trade and investment.

Leaders of the two sides shared the determination and wish to further bolstertheir partnership in trade and investment. Vietnam held two forums ineducation, and economic, trade and investment cooperation in the country. Atthe economic forum, NA Chairman Hue witnessed the exchange of an agreementbetween the two governments, which included Vietnam’s opening of market for NewZealand’s pumpkins and strawberries. Earlier during the New Zealand PM’s visitto Vietnam, New Zealand also announced its opening of door for Vietnamesepomelos and limes, said Ha.

He held that the opening of market for each other farmproduce will help farmers of the two countries expand their production, contributingto increasing two-way trade.

Regarding the cooperation potential between Vietnam andAustralia and New Zealand, Ha said that after a new cooperation between theparliaments of Vietnam and Australia was signed with new and in-depth contents,the external relations agencies of the two sides will work together to specifythe deal, while sharing experience in law and institution building regardingissues of global concern such as climate change, sustainable development,digital transformation and just energy transition.

For New Zealand, Vietnam hopes to sign a cooperation agreement between the twoparliaments to create a legal framework for the promotion and deepening oftheir parliamentary partnership, contributing to strengthening political trust andmutual understanding and optimising the bilateral strategic partnership, Hasaid.

Australia and New Zealand are both important strategicpartners of Vietnam in the South Pacific. The two countries have showed strongattachment to Southeast Asia as well as Asia and the Pacific, and sharing a closepolitical, diplomatic, foreign relations, defence, security, trade andinvestment relations with countries in the region.

Both countries highly value the position and role of Vietnam inthe current world situation. Australia and New Zealand are all importantmembers of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-PacificPartnership (CPTPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

These are very important legal foundations for Vietnam and the two countries tocontinue to promote their economic, trade and investment relations, especiallyin the field of agriculture, where both foreign countries are strong in and Vietnamhas strong cooperation demand, stated Ha./.