MoIT leader talks with New Zealand Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister

The talk also saw the participation of representatives from functional agencies under the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien talks with New Zealand Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Todd McClay on the sidelines of the expanded G7 Trade Ministers’ Meeting

At the talk, the two officials highly appreciated the significance of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's official visit to New Zealand in March 2024, which has opened up new cooperation opportunities for both sides in areas such as climate change response, green economy, digital transformation, and agricultural technology. They also recalled the agreement on economic and trade cooperation signed in March between the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of New Zealand.

New Zealand Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Todd McClay said Vietnam and New Zealand still have a lot of potential and room to boost bilateral trade

New Zealand Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Todd McClay said that Vietnam and New Zealand still have a lot of potential and room to boost bilateral trade. The Vietnamese people love fruit and nut products (like kiwi, cherry, apple...); and seafood (tuna,...) from New Zealand; meanwhile, it exports to New Zealand product groups such as phones and components, computers, electronic products and components, seafood, cashew nuts, shoes, and more.

After Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's business trip to New Zealand, New Zealand businesses also want to seek investment opportunities in Vietnam. Minister Todd McClay also proposed that Vietnam join in the Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability, which may open up more trade opportunities and address challenges on climate change and sustainable development.

Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien shared about the prospects on Vietnam- New Zealand trade and economic cooperation

For his part, Vietnamese Minister Nguyen Hong Dien shared about the prospects on Vietnam- New Zealand trade and economic cooperation and provided information about Vietnam’s policies on various fields that are interested in by New Zealand businesses such as trade, energy, science and technology, climate change, and agricultural products.

Minister Nguyen Hong Dien highly appreciated Minister Todd McClay’s initiatives on the Trade and Climate Change Agreement as Vietnam is one of the typical countries affected by climate change. However, when negotiating this agreement, developing or underdeveloped countries need to take necessary and appropriate steps to work together towards the common goal.

Similarly, regarding the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), Minister Nguyen Hong Dien affirmed that Vietnam will continue to coordinate closely with New Zealand and member countries to build a comprehensive, open, flexible and dynamic IPEF framework to enhance common interests and jointly solve economic and trade issues, and requested for New Zealand support when the IPEF Framework takes effect in Vietnam.

Also at the meeting, the two ministers agreed on specific measures to realize the achieved results during Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's official visit to New Zealand in March this year.

Based on the potential and strengths of each country, Vietnam and New Zealand need to create more favorable conditions for their businesses to promote trade and investment. The two ministers agreed to carry out breakthrough measures to achieve the two-way trade target of US$3 billion by 2025, including: strengthening connectivity between the two economies, expanding market access, effectively implementing commitments within the framework of free trade agreements, and opening direct flights between the two countries soon. New Zealand agreed to continue official development assistance (ODA) programs and scholarships and to welcome Vietnamese students. In particular, the two sides agreed to expand cooperation in new fields, such as clean agriculture, green, digital economy, and energy transition in the Action Program to implement the Strategic Partnership for the 2024-2027 period which will be built soon.

The two ministers agreed on specific measures to realize the achieved results during Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's official visit to New Zealand in March 2024

On this occasion, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien also invited Minister Todd McClay to visit Vietnam soon to realize cooperation frameworks, aiming to promote economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.