This is New Zealand National Assembly Chairman Gerry Brownlee's first visit since his inauguration, taking place in the context of 2025, the two countries celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations (June 19, 1975 - June 19, 2025) with many meaningful activities.
The visit will contribute to strengthening political trust, deepening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, and making the bilateral relationship between Vietnam and New Zealand more substantial and effective.
In an interview with VNA, experts said that the convergence of interests is a key driving force to promote Vietnam - New Zealand relations.
Professor Roberto Rabel - University of Victoria, Wellington - analyzed that the two countries complement each other both economically, and share common interests in politics, security, society, culture and people-to-people exchanges, extending from bilateral to regional and global.
The economy is considered a pillar sector. Vietnam is a rapidly growing economy, a large consumer market, and is deeply integrating; New Zealand has strengths in high-tech agriculture, renewable energy and sustainable development governance. Vietnam and New Zealand are both members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP), both committed to promoting free and fair trade based on rules. This addition creates many opportunities to expand trade and investment cooperation.
Bilateral relations are strengthened thanks to common diplomatic values. Ms. Suzannah Jessep - Director of the New Zealand Asia Fund - emphasized that Vietnam and New Zealand are actively participating in regional institutions, both committed to international law, an open and peaceful and stable trade system in the region. This harmony contributes to building strategic trust, helping the two countries coordinate effectively in many multilateral forums.
Professor Dam Salesa - Auckland University of Technology - said that upgrading the relationship to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership shows increasingly deep trust, high strategic connectivity and expanding cooperation opportunities, while creating a systematic and structured framework for cooperation in many areas such as trade, security, education, and people-to-people connection. A promising direction is cooperation in the digital age and sustainable development. According to Professor Salesa, the combination of Vietnam's dynamic digital platform and New Zealand's sustainable technology expertise will create great common value, opening up cooperation in digital transformation, green economy, clean energy and agricultural innovation.
Scholars agree that there is still room for cooperation between Vietnam and New Zealand. Professor Roberto Rabel emphasized the importance of accurately identifying the most potential areas and implementing specific projects, with the participation of governments, businesses and social organizations. Sectors such as education, agricultural innovation, and good governance are considered the pillars that need to be prioritized.
Ms. Suzannah Jessep commented that the next phase of cooperation will be driven by Vietnam's economic dynamism and New Zealand's strategy of increasing its Asian presence. This helps the relationship not only expand bilaterally but also strengthen regional stability.
Education is considered one of the key pillars. According to Professor Dam Salesa, educational cooperation not only trains high-quality human resources but also enhances mutual understanding, building people-to-people connections - a core factor to maintain a sustainable relationship. This is the way to form a future generation of leaders with a global mindset and understanding of bilateral culture.
