These are two of a wide range of outcomes proposed during the visit on December 2 to New Zealand by Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh.

In the talk with New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Mr. Muray McCully in Auckland, both sides also agreed that economic cooperation will be a pillar of the Vietnam-New Zealand relationship, according to the government’s news portal.

As the two nations have effectively implemented the action program for 2013-2016, the two sides agreed to discuss a new action program for 2016-2019 in order to prioritize the areas of cooperation.

The two countries underlined the importance of continuing delegation exchanges at all levels; promoting the efficiency of the bilateral cooperation mechanisms like political consultation between the two foreign ministries, and the joint commission for economic and trade cooperation.

Mr. McMully affirmed that New Zealand always regards Vietnam as a priority partner in the region, saying the two countries need to utilize their potential to further enhance the bilateral ties.

New Zealand is ready to cooperate with Vietnam to accelerate the procedures of assessing risks of Vietnamese fruits in a bid to boost the Southeast Asian country’s agro-aquatic exports to New Zealand, Mr. McCully said.

New Zealand will support Vietnam in training, and increase technology transfer to Vietnam to ensure the quality of agricultural products. It will also offer official development assistance and scholarships.

The two sides pledged to continue beefing up defense-security and education cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, the government’s news portal is quoted as saying.

Both sides also discussed regional and international issues of common concerns, including the recent developments related to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and New Zealand’s support for Vietnam to successfully host APEC in 2017.

The two countries emphasized the importance of ensuring peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation in the region. This includes complying with international law; respecting diplomatic and legal processes; addressing disputes through peaceful measures based on international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS; and exercising self-restraint without using or threatening the use of force.

During his trip, Deputy PM Minh separately met with New Zealand’s Speaker of the House of Representatives David Carter and Deputy PM, Minister of Finance Bill English.

New Zealand’s Speaker of the House of Representatives David Carter praised the fine comprehensive partnership between Vietnam and New Zealand. Deputy PM and Minister of Finance Bill English meanwhile, hailed Vietnam’s encouraging achievements in economic restructuring and the transformation of the growth modal.

New Zealand hopes to come to an agreement with Vietnam in the areas of economics, finance, banking and SOEs restructuring, he added.