Vietnam Co-chairs ASEAN–New Zealand Ministerial Meeting, Strengthening Comprehensive Strategic Partnership on 50th Anniversary

SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM Government News Kim Loan Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung (center) co-chairs the ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference with New Zealand, Manila, the Philippines, July 22, 2026 Addressing the event, Le welcomed the steady progress in bilateral cooperation and underscored the need to translate the strong political foundation of the relationship into tangible and practical outcomes by fully leveraging each side's strengths and addressing remaining challenges. He called on ASEAN and New Zealand to prioritize cooperation in ensuring people's essential needs, strengthening secure and resilient food and energy supply chains, and enhancing collaboration in maritime security, safety and connectivity. He also stressed the importance of promoting the sustainable development of the blue economy in line with international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Reaffirming Viet Nam's role as the coordinator for ASEAN–New Zealand relations, Le said Viet Nam would continue working closely with New Zealand and ASEAN member states to further deepen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, contributing to regional and global peace, stability and sustainable development. For his part, Peters reaffirmed New Zealand's longstanding commitment to peace, stability and prosperity in the region. Marking the 50th anniversary of ASEAN–New Zealand relations, he emphasized that ASEAN centrality remains vital to advancing regional cooperation and addressing shared regional and global challenges. The ministers reviewed progress in cooperation and agreed on key priorities to further strengthen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership across its four pillars—Peace, Prosperity, People and Planet. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to ASEAN's principles and modes of cooperation, as well as their support for an open, transparent, inclusive and rules-based regional architecture with ASEAN at its center. They also agreed to step up collaboration in maritime security, combating transnational crime, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence (AI) governance. On the economic front, ASEAN and New Zealand pledged to cement and deepen regional economic integration by maximizing the benefits of the upgraded ASEAN–Australia–New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA), expediting the signing of the ASEAN–New Zealand Air Services Agreement (ANZ-ASA), and supporting ASEAN's implementation of the Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA). The two sides also committed to expanding cooperation in education, human resource development, healthcare, disaster management and climate resilience. New Zealand reaffirmed its support for narrowing development gap and enhancing connectivity across ASEAN. In response to the impact of the Middle East situation on global supply chains and regional energy and food security, the ministers adopted the ASEAN–New Zealand Joint Statement on Promoting Regional Resilience. The statement reaffirmed both sides' commitment to international law, including UNCLOS 1982, and put forward new initiatives to strengthen cooperation in energy security, food security and maritime affairs, with the aim of enhancing the region's resilience to emerging challenges./. ONLINE NEWSPAPER OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM Editor-in-chief: Nguyen Hong Sam License: No. 102/GP-BTTTT dated on April 15, 2024. Head office: No. 16, Le Hong Phong - Ba Dinh - Ha Noi Tel: 080 43162 – 080 48440; Fax: 080 48924 Email: [email protected]