New Zealand supports Vietnam’s stance and concerted efforts by ASEAN member states to find rational solutions to the East Sea issue on the basis of respect for international law, has said Speaker of New Zealand House of Representatives Trevor Mallard.

Deputy PM Trinh Dinh Dung (R) and Speaker
of New Zealand House of Representatives Trevor Mallard.

The NZ official met with Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung who is on a working visit to the oceanian nation from November 27-29.

During the meeting Mallard highlighted the significance of the visit in the context that both nations are preparing to celebrate the 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties, and destined to take their comprehensive partnership to new heights.

He also underlined the need for the two sides to push ahead with their continued support for multilateralism and free trade.

For his part, Deputy PM Dung hailed the positive development of the all-around partnership between the two countries in recent times, voicing his hope that the New Zealand Parliament will support the two countries in stepping up cooperation across a variety of fields, such as defence – security, trade, investment, agriculture, education, culture, tourism and people-to-people exchange.

He called on New Zealand to continue its provision of development aid for Vietnam with a particular focus on education-training, agriculture, climate change adaptation, and disaster risk management.  Dung also suggested the parliament and the government of New Zealand continue offer the best possible conditions for the Vietnamese community there.

Meeting with leaders of a number of ministries of New Zealand, Deputy PM Dung asked both sides to work together to accelerate the resumption of direct flights, towards boosting trade facilitation and tourism development, and strengthening people-to-people exchanges.

He said he hopes that New Zealand will continue to support Vietnam in training human resources for the aviation industry, especially pilots and aviation engineers.

Receiving Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Ben King, and representatives from the Ministry for Primary Industries and the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE), Dung proposed that the two foreign ministries enhance delegation exchanges and high-level meetings in the time to come, thereby consolidating mutual trust and deepening understanding between the two peoples.

On November 29, Deputy PM Trinh Dinh Dung and his delegation left Wellington, concluding their working visit to New Zealand.