Vietnamese Prime Minister begins official visit to New Zealand
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, his spouse Le Thi Bich Tran, and a high-ranking delegation of Vietnam landed at Auckland Airport on March 9 evening (local time), starting an official visit to New Zealand from March 10-11 at the invitation of his New Zealand counterpart Christopher Luxon.
PM Pham Minh Chinh (second, right) and his spouse (first, right) are welcomed at Auckland Airport of New Zealand. (Photo: VNA)
Auckland (VNA) – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, his spouse Le Thi Bich Tran, and a high-ranking delegation of Vietnam landed at Auckland Airport on March 9 evening (local time), starting an official visit to New Zealand from March 10-11 at the invitation of his New Zealand counterpart Christopher Luxon.
New Zealand officials welcoming the delegation at the airport included Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee, Chief of Protocol at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Rod Harris, and Ambassador Designate to Vietnam Caroline Beresford.
The delegation was also welcomed by Vietnamese Ambassador to New Zealand Nguyen Van Trung, staff members of the Vietnamese Embassy, and representatives of Vietnamese people in the country.
Over nearly 50 years of diplomatic ties, the two countries’ relations have been developing unceasingly and were upgraded to a strategic partnership in July 2020.
Vietnam is currently the 14th largest trading partner of New Zealand with bilateral trade reaching 1.3 billion USD in 2023. As of November 2023, New Zealand had 52 investment projects worth 208.35 million USD in Vietnam, ranking 39th among 143 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, statistics showed.
There are about 11,000 Vietnamese people in the South Pacific nation, mainly in Auckland, Christchurch, and Wellington.
During the visit, PM Chinh is scheduled to hold talks and meetings with senior leaders of New Zealand, attend meetings with heads of associations and leading businesses of the country, engage in working sessions with local scientific, technological, and educational institutions, and meet with the Vietnamese community here.
The two sides will discuss measures to further enhance bilateral cooperation, including such focal and traditional areas as trade, investment, labour, education - training, and agriculture./.
Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of New Zealand Winston Peters have agreed to foster coordination between the two foreign ministries so as to strengthen cooperation between the two nations.
New Zealand Acting Ambassador to Vietnam Wendy Hinton has highlighted the significance of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his spouse’s upcoming visit to New Zealand following his attendance at the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in Melbourne and his official visit to Australia.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s official visit to New Zealand on March 10 - 11 is expected to help further intensify the two countries’ political trust and multifaceted cooperation and develop bilateral relations more fruitfully.
Economic and trade ties between Vietnam and New Zealand have developed continuously since the upgrade of bilateral ties to strategic partnership in September 2009, and the upcoming visit to New Zealand by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh is an occasion for leaders of both countries to discuss orientations to further consolidate political trust and multifaceted cooperation.
The coming official visit to New Zealand by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh holds special significance as it is an occasion for the two sides to further intensify bilateral cooperation and strategic partnership, said Vietnamese Ambassador to the South Pacific country Nguyen Van Trung.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, who is also a Politburo member and Secretary of the Government Party Committee, attended the 4th Party Congress of the EVN Party Organisation for the 2025–2030 tenure on August 10, directing EVN to ensure power supply to meet the country’s development demands with double-digit growth set for the coming years.
Party General Secretary To Lam and his spouse Ngo Phuong Ly, along with a high-ranking delegation of Vietnam arrived in Seongnam Air Base in Seoul on August 10 afternoon (local time), beginning a state visit to the Republic of Korea from August 10-13.
General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee To Lam and his spouse Ngo Phuong Ly departed from Hanoi on August 10 morning for a four-day state visit to the Republic of Korea (RoK), which is made at an invitation of RoK President Lee Jae Myung.
As part of the ASEAN Day celebrations, the Vietnamese embassy will also host the ASEAN Family Day 2025 in Ottawa to foster solidarity and community spirit among ASEAN members in Canada.
State President Luong Cuong’s trip once again reaffirmed the Party and State’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification and multilateralisation of relations. It also reflected the strong trend of enhanced cooperation among countries of the Global South in shaping a new, more multipolar, fair and equitable world order.
The outcomes of Party General Secretary To Lam's visit will serve as a driving force and source of inspiration for the two countries to inherit, promote, and elevate their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, contributing to the national construction and development cause in each country, and to peace, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on August 9 inspected the construction site of the new Phong Chau bridge, and surveyed a planned route for the Lao Cai – Hanoi – Hai Phong railway section running through the northern province of Phu Tho.
Across print, broadcast, and online platforms, Angolan media portrayed State President Luong Cuong's visit as a warm and historic occasion, strengthening bilateral ties and boosting Vietnam’s presence in Africa through the AU.
The 500kV Lao Cai – Vinh Yen power transmission line has a total investment of over 7.41 trillion VND (282.5 million USD), and a total length of 229.5 km, passing through 31 communes in the two provinces, and comprising 468 transmission tower foundations.
The visits reflected the elevated position of Vietnam’s foreign policy in the new era—aimed at not only advancing ties with key regional partners like Egypt and Angola but also delivering a strategic message about Vietnam’s commitment to deepening relations with African nations as a whole.
At their talks and meetings, President Cuong and Angola’s top leaders affirmed that the close brotherhood and traditional friendship are a valuable shared asset and a solid foundation for the two nations to advance into a new phase of development.
The ruling People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) attaches great importance to the friendship, solidarity, and comradeship with the Communist Party of Vietnam, and voiced her Party’s wish to further deepen and expand relations between the two sides for the benefit of the Vietnamese and Angolan people.
Vietnam pledges to do its utmost to build an ASEAN of solidarity, consensus, and unity in diversity, and to foster a fast and sustainable development path for ASEAN, grounded in science, technology, and innovation, said Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
Party General Secretary To Lam called on the criminal police force to accelerate the application of science, technology, artificial intelligence, and digital transformation in criminal investigation tasks such as crime prevention, detection, tracking and verification, ensuring that no area remains out of their reach.
Many Koreans living, studying, and working in Hanoi see the upcoming state visit to the Republic of Korea (RoK) by Party General Secretary To Lam as an opportunity to generate strong synergy in economic cooperation, people-to-people exchanges, and cultural understanding.
The achievements of the five decades of Vietnam–Angola cooperation provide a strong and enduring foundation, as well as momentum for the two sides to consolidate, expand, and bring their partnership into a new phase of development.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh stressed that the emulation and commendation work is a vital driver, fostering patriotism, dedication, and collective momentum in the run-up to the 11th National Patriotic Emulation Congress, Party congresses at all levels, and the 14th National Party Congress.
Emphasising the need for sustainable, long-term collaboration, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man called on Japanese investors not only to bring in capital but also to share expertise and modern technology, especially in areas such as green transformation, the circular economy, and advanced corporate governance.
President Luong Cuong's activities during his state visit to Angola, the celebration of the financial sector's 80th traditional day, and the Foreign Ministry's flag-hoisting ceremony marking the 58th founding anniversary of ASEAN are among news highlights on August 8.
Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Pham Viet Hung praised the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ meaningful initiative, noting that the ASEAN Family Run was not only a sporting activity but also an opportunity for diplomats and their families to show unity, connection, and solidarity within the ASEAN family.
PM Pham Minh Chinh (second, right) and his spouse (first, right) are welcomed at Auckland Airport of New Zealand. (Photo: VNA) 
