Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives Gerry Brownlee at the interview with Vietnamese press on August 28, during his trip to Việt Nam. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — New Zealand sees Việt Nam as a “very important partner” and hopes to deepen trade, education, and parliamentary cooperation as the two countries mark 50 years of diplomatic relations this year, New Zealand Speaker of the House of Representatives Gerry Brownlee said in an interview.

Speaking to Vietnamese media on Thursday during his visit to Hà Nội at the invitation of National Assembly Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn, Brownlee said the elevation of ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership earlier this year reflects a trust that has built steadily over five decades.

“On a political level, we see it as being a very valuable friendship that’s grown over those 50 years to a point now where we can say, well, how do we take this a bit further?” he said. “The comprehensive strategic partnership is built around the idea that on almost every aspect of governance, we have some arrangement that recognises a mutual benefit.”

Brownlee said both countries, as international traders, had set a “modest” goal of raising two-way trade to about $3 billion by 2026. “I think it’s modest. I think we can do better also,” he added.

Beyond trade, Brownlee said people-to-people ties would be strengthened through education, business and cultural exchanges. “That would mean more people from Việt Nam can come to New Zealand for study, education, or for any business activities as well, and Việt Nam will do the same for New Zealand.”

Parliamentary cooperation

Brownlee highlighted the role of legislatures in both countries, despite their different political systems.

“Parliaments throughout the world are important. It doesn’t really matter what sort of political system – parliaments are the place where the voice of the people are heard,” he said. “In a population of over 100 million as you’ve got in Việt Nam, there are going to be lots of views about lots of different issues … so having a parliament with those opinions can be voiced, and also where decisions taken by the government can be ratified or endorsed is extremely important.”

He said Wellington would continue seeking ways for greater cooperation between lawmakers and parliamentary officials in both capitals.

Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives Gerry Brownlee visits the exhibition of artefacts unearthed in the grounds of the Vietnamese National Assembly during its construction. — VNA/VNS Photo

Shared positions in multilateral fora

The Speaker said Việt Nam’s leadership role in ASEAN and other regional platforms had made it a reliable partner for New Zealand in an era of growing uncertainty in global trade.

“If you look at the world at the moment, particularly with the world’s biggest economy reshaping itself through tariffs and other such, that has a flow-on effect to all other countries,” he said, in an apparent reference to the United States' controversial duty policies imposed on over 100 partner countries (Việt Nam was hit with a 20 per cent on imports into the US, and New Zealand with 15 per cent).

“So having a strong relationship with countries in this part of the world is very important for New Zealand, and we see Việt Nam as being strategically quite a leader in the area as well.”

He praised Việt Nam’s “very big aspirations” for economic growth, saying that New Zealand sought to learn from its experience in sustaining high growth rates despite global headwinds.

Education ties

Brownlee said New Zealand had recently boosted the number of scholarships for Vietnamese students by 56 per cent and would continue promoting itself as a study destination.

“New Zealand is a peaceful country … our universities and polytechnics all rate in the top 2 per cent of the world,” he said. “The desire from New Zealand’s point of view to offer those scholarships is to ensure that we have people who are going to be part of the future leadership of this country, who have fond memories of their time in New Zealand and have been able to springboard off their education to do better things, not only for this country, but probably for us as well.”

He noted that his delegation included Vietnamese-born New Zealand MP Pham Thi Ngoc Lan, underscoring the presence of a small but active Vietnamese community in the country.

Cooperation on peacekeeping and security

Turning to international security, Brownlee said both countries shared commitments to peacekeeping and conflict resolution, a potential area where New Zealand and Việt Nam can further engage in the new elevated relations.

“The commitment by the leadership of Việt Nam to an independent foreign policy that doesn’t particularly take sides tends to lend itself to the peacekeeping goals,” he said.

New Zealand currently deploys troops in 32 missions worldwide, including long-standing operations in the Sinai desert and the Golan Heights.

Conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine may require future peacekeeping roles, where both New Zealand and Việt Nam could contribute, the official remarked.

“Internationally, there’ll be a search for countries that have that deep commitment to peace,” he said, adding that there are a lot of prospects there for Việt Nam.

Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives Gerry Brownlee and National Assembly Chairman of Việt Nam Trần Thanh Mẫn during a tour of the Diên Hồng Hall in the Vietnamese National Assembly building in Hà Nội on August 28. — VNA/VNS Photo

Reflections on Việt Nam’s development

Brownlee’s visit coincided with busy preparations for Việt Nam’s 80th National Day (September 2).

He said the celebratory atmosphere in the streets of Hà Nội was “quite palpable,” describing the joy and pride of people celebrating independence as “a remarkable thing to see.”

He reflected on Việt Nam’s transformation since the wars of the 20th century. “Looking back from say, 1972, what extraordinary change has come over this country,” he said. “Now the very ambitious levels of growth that’s happening … you can feel this country being much more on the verge of massively increasing GDP per capita, and therefore the well-being of people.”

Brownlee congratulated the Vietnamese National Assembly for achieving the milestone with "such willing participation from the population," and expressed his excitement to be able to witness that here on the trip. — VNS