Hanoi (VNA) - PrimeMinister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern said there is significant potential togrow NZ - Vietnam relationship further and she will discuss with Prime MinisterNguyen Xuan Phuc how to harness the potential of the relationship during theVietnamese PM’s visit to the NZ from March 12-14. 

The NZ Prime Minister granted aninterview to the Vietnam News Agency on the occasion of PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s officialvisit to New Zealand.

“The New Zealand-Vietnamrelationship is going from strength to strength,” Ardern said, noting that tradeis increasing significantly with exports and imports between Vietnam and NewZealand growing by more than a third in the last year alone.

She also highlighted thatbilateral links through education and tourism are growing fast, and theintroduction of Air NZ’s seasonal direct flights between Auckland and Ho ChiMinh City has made it much easier for Vietnamese and New Zealanders toexperience and explore the two countries.

“Education is a real successstory in the New Zealand-Vietnam relationship with more and more Vietnamesetaking up the opportunity of a world class education in New Zealand,” PM Ardernsaid. She added that New Zealand has also invested in the future leaders ofVietnam by providing 30 post graduate scholarships per annum, English LanguageTraining for Officials, and other targeted short term training opportunities.

According to the PM, there aresignificant opportunities for further cooperation in education between the twocountries. She noted that a number of New Zealand universities have developedstrong partnerships with Vietnamese institutions, for example, delivering jointuniversity degrees that provide more flexibility for Vietnamese students tostudy both in New Zealand and Viet Nam.

“Vietnam has a young populationwith many keen to move up the education and skills ladder. New Zealand has theeducation institutions to help cater to that aspiration,” the PM said.

Speaking on the relationshipbetween New Zealand and Vietnam in terms of international mechanisms and forumson economic cooperation that the two countries have joined, such as the APECand the CPTPP, PM Ardern said both countries work closely in international andregional forums such as the World Trade Organisation and Asia Pacific EconomicCooperation (APEC). 

She went on to say that Vietnamand New Zealand are also partners in free trade agreements such as the ASEANAustralia New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA) and the Comprehensive andProgressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

According to the PM, theseorganisations and agreements are important for ensuring the region’s ongoingprosperity, mainly because they embody the shared commitment to a more open andinterconnected Asia-Pacific region. New Zealand and Vietnam both recognise theimportance of CPTPP for deepening regional economic integration.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phucand his spouse will pay an official visits to New Zealand from March 12-14 atthe invitations of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

 Vietnam and New Zealand set up diplomaticrelations in 1975. Vietnam is New Zealand’s 16th largest trade partner with thetwo-way trade hitting about 1.2 billion USD in 2017. The two nations aim toraise bilateral trade to 1.7 billion USD by 2020.