During her visit to NZ, Mai and her entourage met Christopher Finlayson, Attorney-General of New Zealand; the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations; the Minister in Charge of Government Communications Security Bureau, and the Minister in Charge of the Security Intelligence Service in Wellington.
The Vietnamese delegation also had working sessions with the Mayor of Wellington City Justin Lester and officials from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Maori Development and the New Zealand – Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Group.
During the meetings, senior officials from NZ spoke highly of the good progress in the Comprehensive Partnership between the two countries since it was founded in 2009. Since then, two-way trade has climbed nearly three-fold and a direct flight route has been launched between HCM City and Auckland.
The two nations have become important partners to each other in multiple areas, working together towards peace and stability in the region. The officials also asked for efforts from both sides to turn their relations into a Strategic Partnership.
Mai, for her part, praised the robust development of New Zealand in all fields. She said that Vietnam always attaches importance to New Zealand in its foreign policy and looks forward to taking the Comprehensive Partnership to new heights.
She also updated her hosts on the latest developments in the East Sea, expressing her hope that New Zealand will coordinate closely with Vietnam, ASEAN and the other involved parties in ensuring the security and freedom of navigation and pushing for the settlement of disputes in the sea via peaceful means in line with international laws, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
While in the NZ, Mai and her entourage met with representatives from the Vietnamese community and the staff of the Embassy of Vietnam.
