Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh delivers a policy speech at the Victoria University of Wellington on March 11. (Photo: VNA) In his speech, Chinh highlighted climatechange, diseases, exhaustible resources, aging population, and poverty as thefive major challenges the whole world is facing which need a global anduniversal approach that highlights international solidarity and multilateralismto address, ensuring that no one is leftbehind.
The region and the world are undergoing a period of profound transformation, characterisedby rapid, complicated, and unpredictable developments with increasing risks andinstability such as strategic competition among powers, he said, addingnowhere are the global changes more evident than in the Asia-Pacific and the IndianOcean which are the locomotive for global economic recovery and growth,and the world’s economic hub that generates almost 60% of the global GDP andaccounts for 46% of the international trade.
Along with young labour force and a network ofdeep economic linkages with various new-generation and large-scale free tradeagreements to which both Vietnam and New Zealand are members, the regions boastinnovation capacity and are a pioneer in testing new technologies, theVietnamese Government leader highlighted.
However, besides opportunities, the regions have been a site of intense strategiccompetition among major powers, posing a high risk of conflicts that could affectcountries in the regions and across the globe.
Highlighting Vietnam’s vision and aspiration, PM Chinh said that the country wishesto join hands with the international community to maintain peace, prevent warsand conflicts, as well as promote sustainable development.
As Vietnam is striving to become a developing country with modern industry and upper-middleincome by 2030, and a developed and high-income country by 2045, it has identified three fundamental factors, namely building a socialist democracy, building a law-governedsocialist state, and building a socialist-oriented market economy, he said, stressingpeople have been put at the centre and taken as the locomotive for development and Vietnamwill not sacrifice social progress and justice and the environment for pureeconomic growth.
Regarding Vietnam’s orientations, Chinh said Vietnam is developing anindependent, self-reliant, and proactive economy in tandem with extensive,practical and effective international economic integration.
He underscored the country’s three breakthroughs in institution, human resourcesand infrastructure development, with focus sharpened on economic restructuringin tandem with the renewal of the growth model and improvement of productivity,quality, effectiveness, and competitive edge.
The country is building a progressive culture imbued with national identity, developing education-training and science-technology, ensuring social welfare,and paying due attention to protecting the environment and responding toclimate change.
He went on to say that Vietnam is consolidating and strengthening defence andsecurity, safeguarding national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity,and pursuing the “Four Nos” defence policy.
In the meantime, the country is developing a strong and comprehensive rulingParty, pushing ahead the prevention of corruption and other negative phenomena, andimplement the great national solidarity policy.
Vietnam is pursuing a foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace,friendship, cooperation and development, diversification andmultilateralisation, he said, adding the country is a good friend, a trustworthypartner and an active and responsible member of the international community.
The country is developing its bamboo diplomacy imbued with its culturaltradition and history, he added.
PM Pham Minh Chinh and Vietnamese students at the Victoria University of Wellington (Photo: VNA) According to PM Chinh, afternearly 40 years of "Doi moi" (Renewal), thanks to the sound policies,guidelines, goals, and orientations of the Communist Party of Vietnam, thedrastic engagement of the entire political system, the active participation andconsensus of people and businesses, as well as the support and assistance ofinternational friends, Vietnam has made great progress, and gained greatachievements of historical significance.
From a besieged and embargoed country, Vietnam now hasrelations with 193 countries around the world and set up strategic partnershipand comprehensive partnership with 30 nations, including all five permanentmembers of the United Nations Security Council, seven members of the Group ofSeven (G7), and 16 members of the Group of Twenty (G20). It has also signed 16free trade agreements (FTAs) with more than 60 countries and is negotiatingthree others.
As the world and regional situation is forecast to changerapidly, complicatedly and unpredictably, Vietnam will continue to identifythat there are more difficulties and challenges than opportunities andadvantages. Therefore, it is necessary to closely follow reality and havetimely, flexible and effective response policies. In particular, Vietnam isrenewing traditional growth drivers such as investment, consumption and export;and strongly promoting new ones such as science - technology, innovation,digital transformation, green transition, circular economy, sharing economy aswell as emerging industries and fields such as artificial intelligence (AI) andsemiconductor.
Vietnam maintains macro-economic stability, controlsinflation, promotes growth, and ensures major balances of the economy; whilefocusing on ensuring social security, environmental protection, and climatechange response; consolidating and strengthening national defence and security;and stepping up foreign affairs and international integration so as to create apeaceful and stable environment and favourable conditions for nationaldevelopment, PM Chinh stated.
Regarding the Vietnam - New Zealand relations, the PMaffirmed that New Zealand is one of Vietnam's leading partners in the regionand one of its few strategic partners in the world.
To continue making the most of potential and strengths ofboth countries, and bringing the bilateral relationship to a new height, it isnecessary to promote the strategic value of the Vietnam - New Zealandpartnership, to jointly contribute to peace, stability and cooperation in theAsia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions.
The two sides must jointly enhance multilateral collaborationand international solidarity; solve disputes and disagreements through dialogueand peaceful means; promote the "win-win cooperation and mutualbenefit" mindset instead of the "win-loss" one; and activelycooperate to contribute to the formation of an open, transparent, inclusiveregional structure based on international law, in which the Association ofSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plays a central role.
Vietnam hopes to join New Zealand in pioneering efforts toensure food security, develop clean and green agriculture, and improve capacityto adapt to climate change and other global challenges, PM Chinh stressed,adding that Vietnam is ready to act as a bridge for New Zealand to furtherstrengthen relations with ASEAN and with ASEAN member countries, especially inits role as the coordinator of ASEAN - New Zealand relations for the 2024 –2027 period. He expressed his hope that New Zealand will help Vietnamstrengthen relations with Pacific island countries and internationalorganisations in this region.
He proposed the two countries stabilise and strengthenpolitical trust, strategic confidence, and political and diplomaticcooperation; intensify and expand collaboration in all important pillars of thebilateral strategic partnership, including economy - trade - investment,security and defence, agriculture and people-to-people exchanges; andaccelerate and make breakthroughs in cooperation in science - technology,innovation, green and digital economic development, environmentally friendlytechnology transfer, emission reduction, agricultural development, and otheremerging technology industries such as AI, semiconductor, and sea-based economy.
The government leader also proposed promoting trilateralcooperation models between Vietnam and New Zealand with one or two SouthPacific island countries, or between Vietnam, New Zealand and Laos as Laos isthe ASEAN Chair in 2024; and strengthening cooperation between ASEAN and thePacific Islands Forum (PIF).
PM Chinh went on to say that Vietnam will do its best tobring the bilateral relationship to a new height, thus helping each country tofirmly safeguard its independence, sovereignty, peace and development, for thebenefit of the two peoples, and for peace, stability, cooperation anddevelopment in the region and the world.
This was the final official activity o🌃f PM Chinh during hisvisit to New Zealand. In the evening of the same day, PM Chinh, his spouse andthe Vietnamese high-ranking delegation are schedu🌸led to leave New Zealand forHanoi./.
