Warmly welcoming Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to visit and deliver a policy speech at the university, Vice-Chancellor of Victoria University Nic Smith said that the university recently organized a student exchange in Ho Chi Minh City and this exchange inspired us to have strong academic connections with Vietnam.
Victoria University is the first university to implement dual degree training with Vietnam; closely cooperates with the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam to implement teaching of postgraduate and doctoral students in economics. The University also participated in 3 courses of capacity building program for Vietnamese government officials; implemented English courses for state officials and the course was very successful. Victoria University continues to closely cooperate with Vietnam to implement these cooperation programs extensively.
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Victoria University President Nic Smith delivers a welcoming speech to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. |
In his policy speech, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh expressed his impression of visiting and speaking at Victoria University, one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in New Zealand, which also has the largest number of Vietnamese students among New Zealand universities (more than 200 Vietnamese students). The Prime Minister was impressed because New Zealand is very green, clean, beautiful, values education, science and technology, and values the human factor.
The Prime Minister pointed out that both countries have a strong agricultural foundation, are actively integrating internationally, and share many common values (respecting the maintenance of national cultural identity; promoting community spirit, solidarity, mutual love and support). The Maori have a proverb: "To raise a child to become a good person, it takes the efforts of the whole village. To make a person successful, it takes the efforts of the whole community". In Vietnam, there is a saying: "One tree cannot make a forest. Three trees together can make a high mountain".
With this visit, the Prime Minister hopes to continue promoting the Vietnam-New Zealand Strategic Partnership to new heights, developing more deeply and strongly in the future. The Prime Minister shared that he has proposed that New Zealand facilitate the granting of work visas to Vietnamese people; and hopes that New Zealand will soon recognize the Vietnamese community as an ethnic minority within the country's multi-ethnic community with its own identity, according to New Zealand law.
At today's Forum, the Prime Minister wishes to share three main contents: The current world and regional situation; Vietnam's development vision and aspirations; Vision of the Vietnam-New Zealand strategic partnership in the coming time.
Regarding the world and regional situation, the Prime Minister stated that the world today is facing major challenges and we must have solutions to overcome them. These are non-traditional security issues of a global nature that cannot be handled by any single country but require international solidarity and multilateralism. At the same time, these are also issues of a national nature, affecting and influencing all people in all countries. The Covid-19 pandemic is the clearest proof. To respond to the above global and national challenges, a global approach and a national approach with comprehensive, comprehensive and inclusive solutions are needed, leaving no one behind.
The world and the region are in a period of profound transformation, characterized by rapid, complex, unpredictable developments, increasing risks and instabilities: strategic competition among major countries is increasingly fierce; conflicts in Ukraine, the Gaza Strip, and the Red Sea are unpredictable; natural disasters, epidemics, and climate change are having increasingly severe impacts.
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View of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's policy speech. |
In current international relations, there are six major contradictions: between war and peace; between competition and cooperation; between openness, integration and independence and autonomy; between solidarity, association and separation and demarcation; between development and backwardness; between autonomy and dependence.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution, especially breakthrough technologies (artificial intelligence, big data, internet of things, cloud computing, 5G technology, etc.) have been changing the world, forcing all entities to adapt and change. Nowhere in the world are the profound changes in the international situation as evident as in the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean - the driving force of global recovery and growth, the economic center of the world, contributing about 60% of global GDP; concentrating the three largest economies in the world: the United States, China and Japan; 46% of total international trade and 50% of total maritime transport.
The youthfulness of the workforce, the extensive economic network with the network of new generation, large-scale FTAs of which Vietnam and New Zealand are members (such as RCEP, CPTPP). The capacity for innovation, leading in testing new technologies. It is estimated that by 2030, 5G mobile connections will increase 10 times; the number of internet connections in the region will reach 1.84 billion users. Thus, this region poses opportunities intertwined with challenges. We must always see the negative and positive sides, have ways to resolve them, always put things and people in motion and development.
However, the Prime Minister pointed out that this is also an area with many hot spots and is also a focus of strategic competition between countries; there is a high risk of conflict and it can spread, impact and influence countries in the region and globally.
In short, speaking generally about today's world: Overall peace, but locally there is war; Overall reconciliation, but locally there is tension; Overall stability, but locally there is conflict. The Prime Minister stated that strategic competition forces other countries to choose sides, but Vietnam does not choose sides but implements a foreign policy of diversification, multilateralization, and is an active and responsible member of the international community.
Regarding Vietnam's vision and development aspirations, the Prime Minister stated that, first of all, it can be said that the Vietnamese people are the people who have suffered the most pain and loss caused by war than any other people since World War II (including: fighting against old-style colonialism, fascism, neo-colonialism, fighting against genocide, border wars to protect the Fatherland and fighting against sieges and embargoes). In 2024, Vietnam will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu victory "famous in five continents, shaking the world" (May 7, 1954 - May 7, 2024). Therefore, Vietnam, more than anyone, understands the value of peace and always wishes to work with the international community to maintain peace, prevent war, conflict and promote sustainable development; must protect peace, oppose war. Peace and stability are invaluable common assets, necessary conditions for socio-economic development, bringing a good life to the people.
Regarding the general goals, fundamental factors and development orientation, the Prime Minister said that, regarding the general goals: Vietnam strives to become a developing country with modern industry and high middle income by 2030 (the 100th anniversary of the Party's founding); and strives to become a developed country with high income by 2045 (the 100th anniversary of the country's founding).
The Prime Minister shared about the fundamental factors including 3 elements: building socialist democracy; building a socialist rule-of-law state; developing a socialist-oriented market economy; in which, the consistent principle is to take the people as the center, the subject, the most important resource, the driving force and goal of development; not sacrificing progress, social justice, environmental protection to pursue purely economic growth.
Referring to the achievements after nearly 40 years of Vietnam's renovation, the Prime Minister emphasized: Thanks to the above-mentioned correct policies, guidelines, goals and orientations under the leadership of the Party, the drastic participation of the entire political system, the active participation and consensus of the people and businesses, and the support and assistance of international friends, Vietnam has made great strides in development, achieving great and historic achievements, as assessed by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong: Vietnam has never had such a foundation, potential, position and international prestige as it does today.
The Prime Minister stated that in the coming time, the forecast of the world and regional situation is that it will change rapidly, complicatedly and unpredictably. We will continue to clearly identify difficulties and challenges more than opportunities and advantages, and need to closely follow reality and have timely, flexible and effective policy responses; focusing on strongly promoting the following key areas:
Renewing traditional growth drivers (investment, consumption, export) and strongly promoting new growth drivers such as science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, green transformation, circular economy, sharing economy, emerging industries and fields (such as artificial intelligence, semiconductor chips, etc.).
Maintain macroeconomic stability, control inflation, promote growth, and ensure major economic balances.
Promote industrialization and modernization, create substantial changes in strategic breakthroughs, and restructure the economy.
Mobilize and effectively use all resources, harmoniously combining internal and external resources.
Focus on ensuring social security, protecting the environment, responding to climate change; consolidating and enhancing national defense and security, promoting foreign affairs and international integration, creating a peaceful and stable environment and favorable conditions for national development.
Regarding the vision of the Vietnam-New Zealand Strategic Partnership in the coming time, the Prime Minister stated that in 2025, Vietnam and New Zealand will celebrate the 50th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations.
New Zealand is one of Vietnam's leading partners in the region and one of Vietnam's few strategic partners globally. Political trust between the two countries has been strengthened; senior leaders of the two countries regularly meet and exchange views, even during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The two sides share many common perceptions and values (cultural values and common aspirations for peace, stability, cooperation, and development) on the solid foundation of strong people-to-people connections (a community of more than 15,000 Vietnamese people actively contributing to New Zealand's prosperity; 6,000 international students).
Vietnam always appreciates New Zealand's valuable sentiments and support for Vietnam in the cause of national construction and development, especially in hunger eradication, poverty reduction, agricultural development, climate change adaptation, innovation, healthcare, education, response and recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Economic, trade and investment cooperation is a key pillar and driving force of the bilateral relationship. Vietnam is New Zealand's 14th largest trading partner and 17th largest importer.
Defense and security cooperation has developed strongly in many areas (maintaining naval ship visits and the bilateral Defense Dialogue mechanism; preventing transnational crimes; combating terrorism and high-tech crimes; supporting English training for peacekeeping).
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Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh takes a souvenir photo with Vietnamese students studying at Victoria University. |
To continue promoting the potential and strengths of both countries, and continue to bring the bilateral relationship to new heights in the coming time, I would like to share some major orientations:
Firstly, it is necessary to promote the strategic value of the Vietnam-New Zealand Partnership, to jointly contribute to peace, stability and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions. Promote multilateral cooperation and international solidarity, encourage countries, especially major countries, to enhance and consolidate trust, and make responsible contributions to maintaining global peace and security; resolve disputes and disagreements through dialogue and peaceful measures; promote the mindset of “win-win cooperation and mutual benefit” instead of the mindset of “win-lose”; actively cooperate and connect, contributing to the formation of an open, transparent, inclusive and international law-based regional structure, in which ASEAN plays a central role.
Second, support each other to further promote each country's strengths, closely coordinate to help each other expand and diversify relations, contributing to improving the self-reliance of each country. Vietnam wishes to join New Zealand in pioneering efforts to ensure food security, develop green and clean agriculture, improve the capacity to adapt to climate change and other global challenges. Vietnam is ready to act as a bridge for New Zealand to further strengthen relations with ASEAN and ASEAN member countries, especially in its role as the coordinator of ASEAN-New Zealand relations for the 2024-2027 period; and hopes that New Zealand will help Vietnam strengthen relations with Pacific island countries and international organizations in this region.
Third, create new momentum for the Vietnam-New Zealand bilateral relationship, summarized in three pairs of keywords: "stabilize and consolidate"; "strengthen and expand" and "accelerate and break through".
Stabilize and strengthen political trust, strategic confidence, political and diplomatic cooperation, creating a solid foundation for bilateral relations.
Strengthen and expand cooperation in all important pillars of the Strategic Partnership between the two countries, including economics-trade-investment, education-training, agriculture, national defense and security, and people-to-people exchange.
Accelerate, make breakthroughs, create substantial changes in science and technology cooperation, innovation, green economic development, digital economy, circular economy, sharing economy, transfer of environmentally friendly technology, emission reduction, including in the agricultural sector, cooperation in emerging technology industries such as AI, semiconductor chips...; cooperation in marine economy, marine environmental protection, vocational training and labor cooperation.
Notably: Strengthening cooperation to improve capacity to adapt and respond to global challenges; supporting Vietnam in building a carbon market, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, accessing capital sources to help the Mekong Delta adapt to climate change; strengthening cooperation in cooperation mechanisms in the Mekong Sub-region.
Promote trilateral cooperation models between Vietnam-New Zealand and 1 or 2 South Pacific island countries, or Vietnam-New Zealand-Laos (in the year Laos holds the ASEAN Chair 2024); strengthen cooperation between ASEAN and the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF).
The Prime Minister emphasized that with the solid foundation of common interests, the consensus and determination of the governments and peoples of the two countries, and the tradition of good relations between the two countries, Vietnam believes that the future of the strategic partnership between Vietnam and New Zealand will be increasingly bright, self-reliant and self-reliant. Vietnam will strive to bring our two countries' relations to a new height, for the benefit of the two peoples, for peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.
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