Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives Gerry Brownlee. — Photo rnz.co.nz

HÀ NỘI — Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives Gerry Brownlee will pay an official visit to Việt Nam from August 27 – 31, aiming to build on the outcomes of recent high-level exchanges and advance cooperation in various areas, including trade, investment, defence-security, parliamentary affairs, education, agriculture, climate change response, people-to-people exchanges and collaboration at international forums.

The visit, the first to Việt Nam by Brownlee since he assumed office, takes place at a time when the two countries are celebrating the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations (June 19, 1975 – 2025). It is expected to consolidate political trust, deepen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, and promote more practical and effective bilateral cooperation.

A 50-year partnership of growth

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1975, Việt Nam and New Zealand have steadily strengthened their relationship, overcoming geographical distance to forge a long-term and stable partnership.

The bilateral relationship has been upgraded to a Comprehensive Partnership in 2009, a Strategic Partnership in 2020, and most recently, a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in February 2025. This latest upgrade marks a historic step forward, underscoring both governments’ strong commitment to delivering tangible benefits to their people and businesses.

The two sides have maintained regular high-level contacts, delegation exchanges and bilateral cooperation mechanisms, while closely coordinating and supporting each other at major multilateral organisations and forums.

Trade, investment and development ties flourish

Economic cooperation has continued to serve as a cornerstone of the bilateral relations. Việt Nam is currently New Zealand’s 12th largest trading partner, with two-way trade reaching US$1.3 billion in both 2023 and 2024, and $737.2 million in the first half of 2025. Both sides are working toward lifting the figure to $3 billion by 2026.

Việt Nam has mainly exported phones, electronics, seafood, cashew nuts and footwear, while importing dairy products, fruits, timber, textiles and footwear materials, machinery, equipment and steel from New Zealand.

As of August 2025, New Zealand had invested in 57 projects in Việt Nam with total capital of $208.6 million, focusing on real estate, education and training, manufacturing, agriculture, forestry and fisheries.

Notable projects include the 115-million-USD Aqua Riverside City in Đồng Nia and the Bình Định–New Zealand Gold Co., Ltd. with $15 million. In return, Việt Nam has invested in 12 projects in New Zealand worth $44 million in fields such as manufacturing, accommodation, wholesale-retail, agriculture and trade.

New Zealand has also remained a reliable development partner, pledging NZD$26.7 million ($15.6 million) in non-refundable aid for the 2021–2024 period, with a focus on agricultural quality improvement, drought-resistant rice cultivation in the Mekong Delta and dam safety. Both countries are further expanding cooperation into new fields, including green, digital, and circular economy, energy transition and climate action.

Education has been another highlight of the bilateral ties, with more Vietnamese students choosing New Zealand thanks to its high-quality programmes and scholarship opportunities.

New Zealand has also supported Việt Nam in training specialists, managers, researchers and skilled workers, and has provided English-language training to Vietnamese officials since 1992. Nearly 100 scholarships are offered annually to Vietnamese students at secondary, tertiary and postgraduate levels.

Advancing inter-parliamentary relations

Parliamentary ties between Việt Nam and New Zealand have developed both in scope and depth. A cooperation agreement signed in December 2016 has provided a solid legal basis for exchanges, complemented by regular high-level visits and interactions between committees and parliamentary friendship groups.

The 15th National Assembly of Việt Nam has established the Việt Nam–New Zealand Parliamentary Friendship Group. The two parliaments have also coordinated closely at major inter-parliamentary forums such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) and the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF).

Brownlee’s visit is expected to further strengthen parliamentary diplomacy, foster experience-sharing in legislation and supervision and expand exchanges between committees and friendship groups. Both sides will also seek to diversify cooperation, including through exchanges among women and young parliamentarians, while maintaining close coordination at multilateral forums such as AIPA, IPU, and APPF. — VNA