Reporter: The Vietnam – New Zealand Strategic Partnership is developing well and effectively, notably the exchange of delegations and high-level contacts continues to be maintained. Could you please share about the future of the strategic partnership between the two countries and how it will be implemented in the coming time towards the goal of bringing two-way trade turnover to 2 billion USD in 2024?
Ambassador Tredene Dobson: I'm delighted that since elevating our bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership in 2020, the relationship between Vietnam and New Zealand has really been flourishing. We have made significant progress across the various pillars of our Strategic Partnership Action Plan 2021-2024. This includes strengthening political ties, enhancing defence and security cooperation, promoting bilateral trade, deepening agricultural cooperation and fostering educational connections.
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| Former New Zealand Ambassador to Vietnam Tredene Dobson |
As we approach the expiration of the current Action Plan this year, both sides are actively engaged in reviewing our achievements and discussing future areas of focus. Moving forward, we are committed to further strengthening our bilateral ties in the aforementioned areas, but also exploring together which new and emerging sectors we might want to collaborate on. Some sectors identified as having strong potential include green energy, digital transformation, tourism, agri-tech, seaport development and logistics, and investment.
In terms of trade, our trade relations are thriving, and two-way trade has now surpassed pre-pandemic levels, reaching US$1.59 billion. Vietnam is currently New Zealand’s 14th largest trading partner. We are actively discussing how we can enhance cooperation and business links in sectors where both countries have a competitive advantage. For New Zealand it is currently the food and beverage sector, and for Vietnam it is manufactured and processed goods. However, there is real potential in expanding to some new and emerging areas. On the New Zealand side, we see growing opportunities for New Zealand exporters in areas such as agri-tech services, new innovative food and beverage products, cosmetics, and aviation goods and services. International education also continues to grow, and Vietnam is now New Zealand’s fourth-largest market for international students.
And from Vietnam, we know there is strong interest in New Zealand’s expertise in technology, digitalisation and green energy. Technology is New Zealand’s third-largest export sector. We have some world-leading companies that are already working with Vietnamese partners in various areas such as health software, detailed meteorological forecasting, clean technology in renewable energy and climate-resilient agriculture. New Zealand companies have also shown interest in partnering with Vietnamese counterparts in digital transformation, and innovation start-ups and are willing to share their expertise and experience. But there is so much more that can be done.
Vietnam and New Zealand benefit from being two of the most integrated economies in the Indo-Pacific region, with high-quality free trade agreements (FTAs) that bring us closer together, such as the CPTPP and ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement. Additionally, we participate in regional frameworks like APEC, the East Asia Summit within ASEAN, and the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), and more recently the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), all of which provide excellent platforms to help us achieve our mutual goal of US$2 billion two-way trade by 2024. However, as governments, our responsibility is to ensure that our traders and investors can fully utilise these frameworks. Going forward, we will be looking to further support business-to-business connections and ensuring that our private sectors are aware of the opportunities created by the various trade agreements both our countries have signed up to.
Furthermore, it is crucial for governments to ensure that trade agreements operate as intended. These agreements aim to enhance efficiency, thereby saving businesses time and money. One example is the implementation of electronic certification for agriculture products traded between our countries. This could substantially help free up supply chains and speed up border clearance, bringing benefits to businesses and governments on both sides.
If we collectively recognise the enormous potential for increased collaboration, investment, and complementary trade between New Zealand and Vietnamese businesses, I believe we can comfortably meet our aforementioned trade target.
Reporter: Could you please share more about cooperation to develop “Track II Diplomacy” and tighten cooperation between young entrepreneurs of the two countries?
Ambassador Tredene Dobson: Fostering people-to-people connections through “Track II Diplomacy” (i.e. informal diplomacy between think tanks) remains a key priority in the Vietnam – New Zealand bilateral relations.
Both countries have, for many years, supported engagements between top Vietnamese and New Zealand thinkers through various means, such as delegation exchanges, workshops, and roundtable dialogues. These engagements have enabled have in-depth discussions on a wide range of topics of mutual interest spanning political, security and trade, as well as some more non-traditional issues such as climate change.
In 2023, New Zealand's Asia New Zealand Foundation, New Zealand’s leading non-profit, non-partisan authority on New Zealand-Asia relations, made two visits to Vietnam. The first was in support of the ASEAN Young Business Leaders Initiative (YBLI), which the Foundation facilitates. The YBLI initiative is a key part of the New Zealand Government’s ASEAN strategy, and aims to facilitate trade and build connections between business leaders and entrepreneurs in New Zealand and South East Asia – including Vietnam. New Zealand, through the Foundation, is supporting some incredible young entrepreneurs here in Vietnam, and the visit by the Foundation was an opportunity to forge deeper connections with that group and plan some exciting future initiatives.
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Former Ambassadort Tredene Dobson spoke at the workshop reporting the results of the third phase of the Vietnam - New Zealand Dam Safety Project in July 2023.
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And in November, the Foundation was back with an impressive delegation of New Zealand experts - including on climate change and international relations – for the 14th Track II dialogue with the Diplomatic Academy of Viet Nam (DAV) where the two sides exchanged insights on a range of issues of mutual interest. The New Zealand delegation also met with government officials from the Communist Party and Communist Review, as well as leading academics, diplomats, civil society, and other senior experts on the same visit.
Furthermore during 2023, New Zealand academics participated in a range of international conferences held in Viet Nam, such as the International Conference on the South China Sea organised by DAV, the International Forum on Innovation and Startup Policy for Youth organised by Vietnam's National Committee on Youth. And New Zealand, along with other partners, sponsored and participated in the 5th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Workshop on Implementing UNCLOS, which took place in Vietnam in November – where I was delighted to chair a session.
A delegation from the Communist Review of the Communist Party of Vietnam also had fruitful discussions with New Zealand research groups during a trip to New Zealand last year.
Reporter: We know that the project to develop new dragon fruit varieties with better characteristics for growers and consumers has reaped many positive results. Could you please talk more about this project?
Ambassador Tredene Dobson: I am always delighted to talk about project! I consider it to be one of our shining examples of what can be achieved when you bring together talent and expertise from two countries.
Under this project, Plant & Food Research and Vietnam’s Southern Horticultural Research Institute have been working together to breed new Dragonfruit varieties and improve fruit quality through new growing practices, post harvest handling, and storage technologies to better meet overseas market requirements. In February last year, the three new dragon fruit varieties developed under this project were launched to the global marketplace. All three new varieties are of premium quality with a sweeter, more aromatic flavour than current varieties, and with a crisp, dense texture. They are believed to be the first canker-tolerant dragon fruit varieties to be commercialised. VentureFruit™, a New Zealand company, has joined the collaboration and was given exclusive global commercialisation rights to these varieties. Now, all the stakeholders are working together on a commercialisation pathway. Initially, the new varieties will be commercially developed in Vietnam for export markets. Evaluation trials are planned in other potential production regions, including an ongoing trial in the sub-tropical northern region of New Zealand. Fruit from the new varieties is expected to be available to consumers in 2027, with targets of 250 hectares planted by 2030. Research is also being done to create more premium varieties.
The project was supported with funding from New Zealand’s international development programme from 2013 to 2021 and is now funded by Plant & Food Research in New Zealand for the breeding programme.
Reporter: In recent years, New Zealand has been one of the countries sponsoring many projects for Vietnam. Ambassador, please share specifically about the projects that New Zealand has aided Vietnam in 2023 through non-refundable aid and the New Zealand Embassy Fund as well as expectations about the impact of aid projects in the near future?
Ambassador Tredene Dobson: I take great pride in our development programme here, which is well-targeted and very responsive to Vietnam’s ongoing needs, allowing us to make a real impact.
In 2023, our development programme continues to support Vietnam's social and economic development goals, with a particular focus on agriculture, climate change and disaster risk management, and skills and capability building for vulnerable communities.
We have seen great progress in our “Dam Safety” project which tackles the risks of extreme dam discharges and failures, and is now well into its third phase with a total investment of NZ$7.5 million from the New Zealand Government for the 2022-2027 period.
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| Former Ambassador Tredene Dobson presented gifts to Tay ethnic women in Quang Binh district, the northern moutainous province of Ha Giang, beneficiaries of the project to support livelihood restoration after the COVID-19 pandemic, sponsored by the Embassy of New Zealand. |
We have also provided consistent support to Vietnam’s horticulture sector through projects to develop premium fruit in Viet Nam, including the dragon fruit project I mentioned earlier and an exciting follow up initiative drawing on the lessons from this project.
In 2023, we continue to witness further progress in the implementation of the "Vietnam COVID-19 Response" project, initiated by the New Zealand Government with a value of nearly NZ$2.2 million, which began in June 2022. This project encompasses three sub-projects that provide medical equipment to the Vietnamese health sector, and improve the livelihoods of vulnerable groups in Thua Thien – Hue, Quang Tri and Ha Giang provinces.
Through the New Zealand Embassy Fund, we have carried out various capacity-building projects in collaboration with NGOs, focusing on women empowerment, people with disabilities and ethnic minority groups throughout the country. These projects include responding to gender-based violence and human trafficking, providing livelihood support for vulnerable women and girls in Nghe An and Yen Bai; improving infrastructure accessibility for people with disabilities in Ha Noi's green community spaces; building resilience against human trafficking among ethnic minority students in Ha Giang Province; supporting intellectually disabled children in Ho Chi Minh City; and expanding living spaces for young individuals living with disabilities in Hue.
Reporter: During your term in Vietnam, what image of Vietnamese country and people of Vietnam left the deepest impression on the Ambassador?
Ambassador Tredene Dobson: As the New Zealand Ambassador to Vietnam for the past three years, I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to travel throughout the country and meet a lot of incredible Vietnamese individuals. In New Zealand, we have a proverb in our indigenous language (te reo Māori) that really resonates with me: "He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata," which translates to "What is the most important thing in the world? It is people, it is people, it is people." I firmly believe that the people of Vietnam are a precious treasure.
Moreover, Vietnam's rapid economic growth and development is undeniably impressive. In just one generation, Vietnam has transformed from being one of the world's poorest nations to an emerging middle-income country. This achievement speaks volumes about the collective efforts and dedication of the Vietnamese government and its people towards building a better future.
Reporter: On the occasion of Vietnam’s traditional Tet 2024, can you share your Vietnamese New Year greetings?
Ambassador Tredene Dobson: I know that in Vietnamese culture, the Dragon represents strength, power and prosperity. I wish everyone a healthy and prosperous Year of the Dragon, and that the hard-working people of Vietnam can enjoy some wonderful restful time with their family and friends during the Tet holiday making special memories.
Tet is the time for families to come together, so my wish is that all Vietnamese people can spend some precious time with their families to enjoy each other’s company, to reflect on the past and look forward to the future.
Happy New Year, everyone!
Sincerely thank the Ambassador! Wishing you a happy and prosperous new year and will continue to support Vietnam in the upcoming journey!