PANO - Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh held talks with New Zealand's Foreign Minister Muray McCully on December 2 in Auckland as part of an official visit of the Vietnam high-raking delegation to New Zealand from December 1 to 3.

The talks between Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and New Zealand's Foreign Minister Muray McCully. Photo: VNA

At the talks, the two senior officials expressed their delight at positive developments in the Vietnam-New Zealand comprehensive partnership, looking towards a strategic partnership. Both sides agreed to boost cooperation in trade, investment and services, striving for a bilateral trade turnover of USD 1.7 billion by 2020, contributing to turning bilateral economic cooperation into a pillar of relations between the two countries.

For his part, the host affirmed that New Zealand always considers Vietnam a preferential partner in the region, suggesting that the two countries should effectively exploit their potential to further expand bilateral ties in the time to come. He suggested both sides should discuss policies relating to prioritized export lines of each side soon. He pledged that New Zealand would continue providing training assistance and promote technological transfer to Vietnam to raise Vietnam’s agricultural productivity, quality and food hygiene as well as to build up brand names and promote exports.

The two officials also laid much stress on the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security, navigation and aviation freedom in the region as well as of settling disputes by peaceful measures on the basis of international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS 1982), and respecting the diplomatic and legal processes without using force or threatening to use force.

Translated by Trung Thanh