National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue is paying an official visit to New Zealand on December 3-7, the first by a senior Vietnamese leader since the two countries elevated bilateral relations to a strategic partnership in 2020.

Mr. Hue is scheduled to hold talks with Speaker of the House of Representatives Adrian Rurawhe and other senior New Zealand leaders to discuss solutions to successfully realize the targets set forth in the Joint Statement on the strategic partnership between Vietnam and New Zealand and will also attend Vietnam-New Zealand education and economic forums.

His visit is expected to raise the level of cooperation between the two legislative bodies, laying a foundation for supporting and facilitating the governments of both countries to implement strategic cooperation plans.

In addition to enhancing people-to-people exchanges and upholding the fine friendship and solidarity between the two countries, both sides are looking for cooperation opportunities in new areas of potential, including the environment, green energy, sustainability, digitization, and the digital economy.

Both are signatories to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

New Zealand is now Vietnam’s 36^th-largest trading partner, with two-way trade of $1.3 billion in 2021, a rise of 26.7 year-on-year.

The figure was $1.1 billion in the first nine months of this year, up 13.6 per cent year-on-year.

Both sides are eyeing a target of $2 billion in bilateral trade in 2024.