Vietnamese PM holds phone talks with New Zealand counterpart

Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI - Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính had phone talks with his New Zealand counterpart Christopher Luxon on Thursday morning to discuss the bilateral relationship as well as regional and international issues of mutual concern.

In the phone talks, made at the request of the New Zealand side, PM Chính once again expressed his joy and appreciation for the results achieved during PM Luxon's official visit to Việt Nam in February 2025, especially the two sides issuing a Joint Statement upgrading the relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

He suggested the two sides continue to actively coordinate in building an Action Program to implement the new relationship framework, contributing to realising the commitments and agreements reached as well as the contents of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

PM Chính informed about Việt Nam's efforts in discussing with the US side regarding the issue of reciprocal tariffs, including the phone talks between Party General Secretary Tô Lâm and US President Donald Trump on April 4. He also mentioned the measures that Việt Nam has implemented to facilitate the promotion of two-way trade between Việt Nam and the US, supporting businesses to adapt to the situation, such as preferential interest rates, supporting credit packages, reducing taxes and fees, and cutting administrative costs.

The Vietnamese leader emphasised that in the face of fluctuations in the international economic and trade situation, Vietnam is calm, not panicked, not subjective or negligent, and is ready to proactively adapt in any circumstances. Vietnam's motto is to persevere, proactively hold dialogue, and cooperate with the US and partners to resolve difficulties and obstacles in the spirit of harmonising interests and sharing risks, and avoid confrontation, which further complicates the situation.

PM Chính also emphasised that this is an opportunity for Việt Nam to accelerate economic restructuring, green transition and digital transformation, find new growth drivers, and continue to diversify potential markets for goods exports.

He appreciated the positive developments, including President Donald Trump's recent announcement to temporarily suspend reciprocal tariffs on many trade partners for 90 days, emphasising that Vietnam will continue to actively discuss with relevant US agencies towards a trade cooperation framework that ensures the harmonious interests of both sides as well as the legitimate interests of the people and businesses of the two countries.

The Vietnamese PM stressed that in the current context, countries need to promote dialogue and mutual understanding, and strengthen cooperation within multilateral economic linkage frameworks.

In that spirit, PM Chính suggested that Việt Nam and New Zealand should increase information exchange, cooperation and close coordination within the trade frameworks of which the two countries are members, including the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP); further strengthen bilateral trade and investment cooperation in the spirit of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership; and continue to diversify the two sides' import and export products, aiming for a trade turnover of 3 billion USD by 2026.

PM Luxon highly appreciated the shared opinions of PM Chính and emphasised that Việt Nam and New Zealand share common interests in ensuring the international trade system, uninterrupted supply chains, ensuring stable growth and prosperity of each country as well as the world.

He agreed to strengthen cooperation between the two countries both bilaterally and within multilateral cooperation frameworks in the coming time.

The two leaders also consented to continue promoting ASEAN's central role in regional issues, contributing to maintaining an open, inclusive, fair and rules-based multilateral trading system. VNS

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