Rising Together – Vietnam's Growth and New Zealand's Expanding Partnership

New Zealand–Vietnam relations have seen multiple dialogues at the highest levels this year, with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh visiting New Zealand in March 2024. During this visit, Christopher Luxon and his Vietnamese counterpart agreed on a two-way trade target of US$3 billion by 2026. This follows the elevation of New Zealand–Vietnam relations to a Strategic Partnership in July 2020 by former Prime Ministers Jacinda Ardern and Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Vietnam is currently New Zealand’s 14th largest trading partner, with total two-way trade reaching NZ$2.61 billion in the year ended March 2024. Bilateral trade between the two countries has rapidly grown by 44% over the last five years.

New Zealand’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Winston Peters, visited Vietnam in June 2024 as part of a wider four-country trip to Southeast Asia, including meetings with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son.

Peters highlighted the expansion of cooperation into ‘new areas such as oceans management and green and digital economies’ and emphasised the importance of ‘enhanced air links between the two countries’ to support trade and tourism. Vietnam’s last direct air link via Air New Zealand ended in 2018 when the airline suspended its seasonal Auckland–Ho Chi Minh route.

Vietnam’s GDP per capita has increased from US$100 in 1990 to a projected US$4500 in 2024. The country aspires to reach upper middle-income status by 2030 and high-income status by 2045. According to the World Bank, achieving these goals will require Vietnam to sustain ‘average annual per capita economic growth of about 6 percent for the next 20 years,’ which would also see income per capita more than triple.

Vietnam has targeted a range of policies to support these goals, as outlined by New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, including ‘green and digital transformation, more efficient public service delivery, improving urban environments, developing a more highly-skilled workforce, and continuing to increase foreign direct investment.’

During the Asia New Zealand Foundation’s Hanoi Hui held earlier this year, a group of young leaders with a strong interest in Vietnam, including myself, witnessed aspects of these policies coming to life.

At the National Economics University, we engaged in dialogue with a lecture theatre full of young Vietnamese interested in New Zealand. That same evening, New Zealand’s new Ambassador to Vietnam, Caroline Beresford, hosted a reception at the New Zealand Residence in Hanoi with various stakeholders, bridging the gap between Vietnam and New Zealand. The next day, a visit to Shinec’s Nam Cau Kien Eco-industrial Park in Hai Phong demonstrated how a circular economy model can support economic growth while preserving local ecosystems through initiatives such as water recycling, renewable energy use, and green plantings.

At the National Innovation Centre (NIC), a range of high-tech businesses are incubating, including ventures in robotics, cyber security, and genetic testing. The NIC recently celebrated its fifth anniversary, with Vietnam’s Minister of Planning and Investment, Nguyen Chi Dung, stating that the NIC has ‘benefited hundreds of enterprises.’ The NIC has plans to support the development of nine prioritised technology industries, including ‘smart manufacturing, smart cities, digital communications, cyber security, environment, healthcare, semiconductors, and hydrogen.’

A visit to FPT Software’s expansive campus highlighted the growth of Vietnam’s ICT sector, with the company reaching US$1 billion in revenue last year. The wider FPT Corporation also runs FPT University, which prepares students with IT training and became the first university in Vietnam to achieve three stars from Quacquarelli Symonds.

One of Vietnam’s greatest assets is its people, with 55% of the population under the age of 35. The World Bank reports that Vietnam’s human capital index is the ‘highest among lower middle-income economies.’ One of my Vietnamese friends exemplifies this, having completed postgraduate studies in the United Kingdom and now supporting growing enterprises in Vietnam.

Opportunities continue to grow for enhanced people-to-people connections between Vietnam and New Zealand. Up to 200 young Vietnamese can work and study for up to 12 months in New Zealand on the Vietnam Working Holiday Visa, which was fully subscribed this year, despite the cap doubling from 100 places in 2023.

Education New Zealand-funded Manaaki Scholarships for study in New Zealand are also available to Vietnamese scholars. A previous Manaaki Scholar from Vietnam supported our group on several days of the Hanoi hui and mentioned the significant impact that studying in New Zealand had on her.

The Asia New Zealand Foundation’s 2024 Perceptions of Asia survey reveals that ‘Asia is considered the second-most important region to New Zealand’s future after Australia.’ Thirty percent of New Zealanders believe Vietnam is important or very important to New Zealand’s future, ranking 10th overall (behind top-ranked China with 77%). However, Vietnam ranks much higher—at fourth place—in the destinations in Asia that New Zealanders most want to visit (39%), following Japan (66%), Singapore (44%), and Thailand (43%).

The future looks bright for New Zealand–Vietnam relations, with both countries set to celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations in 2025. New Zealand and Vietnam’s ties are being strengthened by several factors, including government diplomacy, trade, tourism, scholarships, and the Asia New Zealand Foundation’s various programmes such as internships and offshore hui.

Vietnam’s economic growth is projected to exceed 6 percent in 2024 and 2025. Maintaining this growth over the long term will enable the country to meet its future economic goals. Through the support of the Asia New Zealand Foundation, I have been fortunate to visit Vietnam in 2016 for a three-month internship and again in 2024 for a week-long hui. I am optimistic that when I next return, the Land of the Blue Dragon will have achieved upper middle-income status and even stronger ties with New Zealand.

(This article reflects the personal views of the author.)

-Asia Media Centre