(VOVworld) - Vietnam pledges to support ASEAN in strengthening its the relations with New Zealand. Ambassador Nguyen Hoanh Nam, Head of the Vietnamese Permanent Representative delegation to ASEAN, addressed the third ASEAN-New Zealand Joint Committee Conference in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Thursday. He hailed the outcomes of New Zealand’s past cooperation with ASEAN and Vietnam, and suggested a number of priority areas for ASEAN-New Zealand collaboration in politics, security, the economy, culture, and society. Nam noted that ASEAN and New Zealand are celebrating the 40^th anniversary of their dialogue partnership, while Vietnam and New Zealand are marking 40 years of diplomatic ties. New Zealand’s Ambassador to ASEAN David Taylor said New Zealand attaches great importance to cooperating with ASEAN and pledges to continue supporting the group in establishing the ASEAN Economic Community and a post-2015 ASEAN Vision. The two sides agreed to extend their collaboration, especially in security, climate change, natural disaster relief, education, training, development inequality, trade, and agriculture.