At the reception, Secretary of the Party Committee of Can Tho City Nguyen Van Hieu highlighted the growing relationship between Vietnam in general and Can Tho in particular with New Zealand over the years. Particularly, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s official visit to New Zealand in March is expected to help further intensify the two countries’ political trust and multifaceted cooperation and develop bilateral relations more fruitfully.

According to Secretary of the Party Committee of Can Tho City Nguyen Van Hieu, last year, Can Tho exported 7.91 million USD worth of goods, mostly aquatic products, garments, and farm produce, to New Zealand, while importing 7.6 million USD worth of products from this nation.

The official said Can Tho City has a strong agricultural sector, especially rice, seafood, fruits, etc. Similarly, New Zealand is renowned for its advanced agriculture industry. Therefore, He expressed his hope that the two sides will conduct more practical activities to further promote the collaboration between Can Tho and New Zealand based on each side's strengths.

Moreover, the two sides can expand cooperation in hi-tech agriculture and green, sustainable industry, as well as human resources training for the agricultural sector.

Secretary of the Party Committee of Can Tho City Nguyen Van Hieu expressed his admiration for New Zealand's modern and world-renowned education system that attracts international students from various countries, including Vietnam. In recent times, the New Zealand Government has initiated several scholarship programs for Vietnamese students. Can Tho also hopes for more scholarships from New Zealand, and stronger cooperation in renewable energy, information technology, green economy, circular economy, and real estate development.

To further promote bilateral cooperation, especially in the fields of agriculture, climate change, education and training, Can Tho plans to send a working delegation to New Zealand in September 2024, said Can Tho leader.

The official said that the major obstacle facing the two sides currently is the modest number of direct flights from Vietnam to New Zealand, adding that the bottleneck should be removed to promote bilateral investment and tourism cooperation.

Secretary of the Party Committee of Can Tho City Nguyen Van Hieu presented a gift to Charge d'Affaires of the New Zealand Embassy in Vietnam Ginny Chapman at the reception.

Charge d'Affaires of the New Zealand Embassy in Vietnam Ginny Chapman expressed her gratitude to the leaders of Can Tho City for their warm welcome. Chapman, for her part, affirmed that Southeast Asia in general, and Vietnam in particular are always a top priority in New Zealand's foreign affairs. For the Mekong Delta region, New Zealand is and will have more extensive cooperation in the agricultural sector.

The diplomat stated that there is still a lot of potential for cooperation between the two sides in various areas like climate change response, agriculture, trade, education and training. Both sides have collaborated in these areas before and can continue to enhance the cooperation in the future.

Chapman also expressed her admiration for the 1-million-hectare high-quality rice field with low carbon emissions in Thanh An commune, Vinh Thanh district of Can Tho. The project was launched by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), and the Can Tho Municipal People's Committee. She asserted that this achievement is resulted from the efforts of many parties such as local authorities, organizations, and farmers. She believed that the project has the potential to become the world's first pilot project in this field.

The diplomat said that responding to climate change and natural disaster risks is an important aspect of collaboration between New Zealand and Vietnam, adding that the two sides are having good cooperation in education and research among institutes and schools. New Zealand hopes to establish stronger ties with major research centers in Can Tho and will offer scholarships to state officials for English training programs and short-term training programs. The specific programs offered will be based on the needs and requests of the Vietnamese side.