(VOVWORLD) -Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of New Zealand Winston Peters arrived in Hanoi on Wednesday for a two-day visit to Vietnam, the first leg of his trip to four Asian countries.
 Ambassador Nguyen Van Trung speaking at Nam Dinh province's trade and investment promotion conference held in Auckland city, New Zealand, May 2024. Photo: Vietnamese Embassy in New Zealand. |
This has been Peters’s first visit to Southeast Asia since serving as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister in the three-party coalition government in New Zealand.
Vietnamese Ambassador to New Zealand Nguyen Van Trung said the visit demonstrates New Zealand's new foreign policy pivot, which considers Southeast Asia as the priority partner group only after Australia and South Pacific islands. The Ambassador said this priority has been repeated in statements by both Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters.
In addition, Peters visits Vietnam just two months after Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's official visit to New Zealand, showing that New Zealand really values strengthening relations with Vietnam and appreciates Vietnam's role and position in the region, which can bring new growth momentum to the New Zealand economy through cooperation, Trung said.
The Ambassador added the visit is an opportunity for the two countries' foreign ministries, through the periodic Foreign Ministers' Meeting to discuss ways to implement high-level agreements.
In particular, the two sides will work out measures to successfully implement the action plan for the 2021-2024 period, identify priorities and new directions for another action plan in the coming years, especially in 2025 when they celebrate 50 years of the diplomatic ties.