Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has jetted out to Vietnam to meet with some of the country’s biggest political players with the hopes of taking a large bite of the nation’s economic pie for NZ.
Although economics will be the focal point of the trip, there is no doubt that the Chinese presence in the Pacific will be front of mind.
“Vietnam is a very important part of the world, geopolitically and it has relationships with both China and the US,” he stated before his departure.
“I’m sure we will discuss the regional political issues but the major focus will be on trade.”
He will be bringing a 20-person business delegation, including the top brass at Auckland University, AUT, Fonterra and Zespri.
Luxon will be meeting with the political powerhouses of Vietnam, or as he likes to put it “the big four”.
This includes Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, President Luong Cuong, Communist Party General Secretary To Lam, and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man.
Vietnam’s centralised government system is tied to its private sector, meaning that any potential deals with other countries need to get the political nod before continuing.
One very specific interest Vietnam lies within the education sector, it’s looking for the nation’s students to live overseas.
“International education is probably a bigger market than tourism for us at the moment in Vietnam, which is very unusual,” Luxon said.
“So we want to continue to build up education opportunities.”
Luxon will oversee more than half a dozen MOU signings at Vietnam’s Foreign Trade University including a Science and AI research collaboration between AUT and Vietnam National University.
The food and beverage sectors are also priorities for the trip, given there are more than 100 million people in Vietnam.
It’s growing population is one of the main reasons Vietnam’s economy is growing at roughly 6% a year. Its GDP is $780 billion a year, compared to New Zealand’s $420 billion.
Photo Credit: Vietnam Times
