PM meets with Vietnamese community in New Zealand

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had a meeting with the Vietnamese Embassy staff and the Vietnamese community in New Zealand on March 10 as part of his official trip to the country.

At the event, PM Chinh briefed the community about the country’s situation, highlighting that thanks to great efforts, Vietnam has achieved great development, strength, international position and prestige like never before.

He thanked the Vietnamese community in New Zealand for always keeping the homeland in their heart, and stressed that the Party and State always see the overseas Vietnamese, including those in New Zealand, as an integral part of the Vietnamese people.

The Government leader underscored that the community has an important role to play in bolstering the Vietnam – New Zealand relations, which have been unceasingly developing over the past decades, with two-way trade in 2023 reaching 1.3 billion USD, and New Zealand providing support for Vietnam in various areas, from education-training to gender equality and development.

He asked the Vietnamese people in New Zealand to promote solidarity to build a strong and developed community, uphold national pride, actively integrate into the host country’s society, comply with the laws and contribute to local development.

Besides, he urged them to preserve Vietnamese cultural tradition and language, and have more practical activities in contributions to the homeland’s construction.

He expressed his hope that the Vietnamese community in foreign countries and in New Zealand in particular will join the Party, military and people’s efforts to concretise the set target of making Vietnam a developed and high-income country by 2045.

The overseas Vietnamese, for their part, expressed their delight and pride in the fatherland’s development as well as the sound Vietnam – New Zealand ties, and stressed that the Party and State have special affection for the community, with the amendment of the laws on land, realty market and housing that create opportunities for them to own houses in the homeland.

They said they hope that the governments of both countries will continue negotiations and promote the implementation of agreements so that Vietnamese products could penetrate deeper into the New Zealand market.

Besides, they pointed out several bottlenecks in administrative procedures in Vietnam, especially legal ones related to foreigners and overseas Vietnamese, while recommending the governments of both countries relax visa policy to create more favourable conditions for citizens to enhance exchange, as well as recognise each other’s degrees.

Vietnam should have policies to support organisations and individuals who engage in the preservation and promotion work of national cultural identity in foreign countries, they added.

PM Chinh said that the Vietnamese government is working on the above-mentioned recommendations, including visa policy renewal, establishments of mechanisms to attract and facilitate conditions for overseas Vietnamese to return home to work, and measures to preserve the cultural identity.

He added that he will ask New Zealand to consider and recognise the Vietnamese community as an ethnic minority group.

More than 10,000 Vietnamese are living and working in New Zealand. They have contributed greatly to the host nation as well as the Vietnam – New Zealand relations. Many have built successful careers in business and scientific research.