HCM CITY— The Minister of State for Trade and Export Growth, Damien O’Connor, yesterday stopped at the Bà Chiểu Girls Shelter in HCM City as part of his visit to Việt Nam from August 27-29.

During his trip, O’Connor will further political links with Vietnamese representatives in HCM City, and then travel to Hà Nội to meet with his counterparts.

At the Bà Chiểu Shelter, O’Connor said that it was his first time to Việt Nam.

“We have a number of Vietnamese students in New Zealand, studying at universities and involved in other training such as how to fly aircraft,” he said.

He told the girls living in the shelter that they were welcome to study in New Zealand.

He announced that the New Zealand Head of Mission Fund worth NZD$25,000 (US$20,000) would be presented to the shelter to maintain its operation and development.

“We are very proud to be working in Việt Nam to help farmers grow more food and improve the systems they use to deliver food,” he said.

Established in 1996, Bà Chiểu  has raised more than 200 disadvantaged girls who also receive a good education. The shelter is now taking care of 22 school-age girls.

This year marks the 43rd anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Việt Nam and New Zealand.

In the last four decades, the relationship has grown in many areas and both countries are on the right track to grow from a comprehensive partnership to a strategic one. 

Both countries are among each other’s top 20 trading partners, with bilateral trade growing by nearly 260 per cent since 2009, when the ASEAN-Australia- New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA) was signed. 

New Zealand is among the most committed official development assistance (ODA) donor countries to Việt Nam, and accounts for a growing number of overseas Vietnamese students. —VNS