Vietnam-New Zealand Committee meets in Hanoi
(VOV) - The Vietnam-New Zealand Joint Committee for Economic and Trade Cooperation held their fourth meeting in Hanoi on December 3.
The Vietnamese delegation was led by Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Cam Tu and the NZ delegation was led by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Andrea Smith.
Both sides discussed measures to increase bilateral cooperation by speeding up the implementation of signed agreements and memorandums of understanding.
They agreed to accelerate negotiations for a double tax avoidance agreement and market access for Vietnamese farm produce to New Zealand.
They acknowledged that Vietnam and New Zealand need to work closely to strengthen cooperation in economics, trade and investment, as well as within multilateral cooperation frameworks such as the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANFTA), the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, and the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Two-way trade between Vietnam and New Zealand rose 12.6 percent in 2011, hitting US$535.4 million. Between January-October 2012 bilateral trade fetched US$462.3 million, a year-on-year increase of 6.3 percent.
By September 2012, New Zealand had 18 valid projects in Vietnam with a total registered capitalisation of US$76.4 million, ranking 41st amongst foreign investors in the country.