Da Nang (VNA) – The central city of Da Nang deems it incredibly important to develop cooperative relationships with New Zealand in various fields, Chairman of municipal People’s Committee Le Trung Chinh said on October 1.

Speaking at a reception for New Zealand Ambassador Caroline Beresford, Chinh expressed his delight at the sound development of the relationship between Vietnam and New Zealand, especially after the two countries upgraded their relationship to a Strategic Partnership in July 2020. He went on to say that the year 2025 is important as the two countries will celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations and the 5th anniversary of the Strategic Partnership.

According to Chinh, a Da Nang delegation paid a working visit to New Zealand last month and gained positive results. With the support of the ASEAN-New Zealand Business Council, the city successfully organised a seminar on cooperation and investment promotion in Auckland.

Swiss-Bell Hotel, Neurofrog Technology, Spekia, ANZ Bank, and others expressed interest in collaborating with the city in areas such as technology, education, and hospitality, he said.

New Zealand is a potential market, yet there are not many cooperation programmes with Da Nang, he said, suggesting the New Zealand Embassy coordinate with the Asia New Zealand Foundation to expedite the visit by a delegation of 100 New Zealand businesses to the city in July next year. He also suggested the embassy help promote the city's image, as well as its investment environment, tourism, and education in New Zealand.

For her part, Beresford said the two countries share many similarities and views. In the coming period, they need to identify fields to enhance cooperation, particularly in technology and innovation, where New Zealand is stepping up collaboration with international partners.

The diplomat pledged that she will connect New Zealand businesses and investors with Da Nang, adding cooperation in other areas should be strengthened to tighten the relationship between the two countries.

As many as 10 businesses in Da Nang has set up cooperative ties with New Zealand partners. In the first seven months of this year, the city's export to New Zealand was valued at some 3.2 million USD.

New Zealand has been running three projects in Da Nang with a total investment capital of 24♒5,000 USD. Various comprehensive cooperation programmes between Da Nang and localities of New Zealand have been carried out in recent years, especially in education, high-quality human resources training, and h⛄ealth care./.