Rt Hon Christopher Luxon
Prime Minister

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, alongside a delegation of senior New Zealand business leaders, has concluded a highly productive visit to Viet Nam, announcing a major upgrade to the New Zealand-Viet Nam relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and reinforcing New Zealand’s commitment to deepening ties with one of Asia’s most dynamic economies.

“Our relationship with Viet Nam is enormously important to New Zealand and our plan to grow the economy to make Kiwis better off," Mr Luxon says.

“Our trading relationships directly impact jobs and growth at home, with one in four jobs in New Zealand dependant on our export market. That’s why I am intent on growing our trading relationship in Viet Nam, elsewhere in Southeast Asia and throughout the world.

"We already enjoy solid cooperation, in areas such as defence, security, trade, education and tourism. But there is massive potential to grow our relationship and boost opportunities for Kiwi businesses in the region.

“Total two-way trade with Viet Nam has grown by 40 per cent in the past five years, and I’m confident we can build on that and do more. There are exciting new opportunities for further collaboration, particularly in technology and innovation, edtech, agri-tech, timber, and in renewable energy.

“With a rapidly growing middle class and a market of over 100 million people, Viet Nam presents huge untapped potential for New Zealand businesses, leading to more jobs and higher incomes at home.

The visit also marks the start of a year-long commemoration of 50 years of diplomatic relations between New Zealand and Viet Nam.

While in Viet Nam, the Prime Minister also welcomed strengthened air links with VietJet’s announcement of new direct flights to New Zealand via Australia. This is the first time a Vietnamese airline has flown to New Zealand.

“More flights mean more opportunities to bring our people closer together – whether for trade, tourism, or education.”

Prime Minister Luxon highlighted the growing cooperation between New Zealand and Viet Nam on defence and security issues, in pursuit of a stable and secure Indo-Pacific.

“We have a strong and growing security and defence relationship, including high-level defence visits, port calls, and strategic dialogues. We’re looking to have a New Zealand ship visit Viet Nam later this year.”

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