Party General Secretary and President To Lam leaves Auckland on August 13 evening (local time), concluding a state visit to New Zealand. Photo: VNA  

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President To Lam and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation left Auckland on August 13 evening (local time), concluding a state visit to New Zealand at the invitation of Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro.

The delegation was seen off at Auckland International Airport by New Zealand Minister for Trade and Investment Todd McClay, Deputy Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade Grahame Morton, and senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, as well as New Zealand Ambassador to Vietnam Caroline Beresford, and Vietnamese Ambassador to New Zealand Phan Minh Giang.

During his stay, General Secretary and President Lam met with Governor-General Cindy Kiro, held talks with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and met with Speaker of the House of Representatives Gerry Brownlee. He also witnessed the exchange of cooperation documents, met the press, and addressed the New Zealand–Vietnam Business Roundtable and a higher and vocational education forum between the two countries.

At the meetings, the two sides reviewed the achievements in bilateral relations since the establishment of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2025. They agreed to further strengthen political trust and advance bilateral relations comprehensively by stepping up high-level and all-level exchanges through Party, State, parliamentary and people-to-people channels, thereby making more effective use of existing policy dialogue mechanisms.

PM Luxon affirmed that New Zealand will continue to strongly promote trade and investment cooperation, creating favourable conditions for businesses of both countries to expand partnerships and invest in each other’s markets.

General Secretary and President Lam expressed appreciation for New Zealand’s practical and effective support for Vietnam over the years, particularly in agriculture and the environment. He called for continued cooperation in developing green, low-emission and climate-resilient agriculture, ensuring food security, increasing the added value of agricultural products and developing exemplary models of cooperation in sustainable agriculture.

The two sides agreed to make education, tourism, connectivity and people-to-people exchanges important drivers of bilateral ties. They will expand collaboration in high-quality human resources development and encourage airlines of both countries to open direct air routes, helping narrow the geographical distance and creating new opportunities for broader and more substantive exchanges.

They also pledged to enhance coordination in regional and international issues of shared concern at multilateral forums, particularly the United Nations. Both sides reaffirmed the importance of upholding international law and settling disputes in the East Sea by peaceful means in accordance with international law, especially the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

During the visit, General Secretary and President Lam and PM Luxon witnessed the exchange of several cooperation documents covering peacekeeping, education, agriculture, environment and market access, as well as grant initiatives supporting climate-smart agriculture and the CGIAR Asian Mega-Deltas initiative.

On the occasion, the Vietnamese leader and Governor-General Cindy Kiro also visited an exhibition of works by renowned New Zealand photographer Fiona Pardington at the Starkwhite contemporary art gallery./.