New Zealand Ambassador: Vietnam is a positive factor shaping ASEAN's strategy

New Zealand Ambassador to Vietnam Caroline Beresford affirmed that with Vietnam's continuous support and coordination, the ASEAN-New Zealand partnership will continue to be strengthened, raised to new heights and bring practical benefits to the people of both sides.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon speaks at the ASEAN Future Forum 2025, February 2025. (Photo: Tuan Anh)

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon recently attended the ASEAN Future Forum (AFF) 2025 to show his support for Vietnam's initiatives in ASEAN. Could you assess Vietnam's efforts to promote this initiative?

New Zealand appreciates Vietnam’s leading role in initiating the ASEAN Future Forum. We are honoured to have New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon as the keynote speaker at the ASEAN Future Forum 2025 in Hanoi .

In his speech, the Prime Minister praised the achievements in 50 years of ASEAN-New Zealand dialogue relations in the fields of trade, development, security and people-to-people exchange.

New Zealand Ambassador to Vietnam Caroline Beresford. (Photo: Jackie Chan)

The Prime Minister sent a clear message that New Zealand values the region. He described New Zealand’s relationship with ASEAN as a “critical pillar” of the New Zealand Government’s priority to maintain strong and effective relationships across the Indo- Pacific region; and emphasised New Zealand’s commitment to ASEAN centrality, support for ASEAN’s cooperation architecture, and efforts to broaden and deepen areas of cooperation.

Vietnam’s proactive role in shaping this initiative demonstrates its strong commitment to strengthening ASEAN’s cooperation with external partners. The forum brought together leaders, officials, business leaders, academics and other stakeholders – a diverse community with shared commitment to the region.

It is clear that Vietnam is working to support ASEAN’s current priorities outlined in the ASEAN Community Vision 2045: Our Common Future. We recognise that these goals are very much aligned with New Zealand’s priority of promoting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific region where ASEAN plays a central role.

According to the Ambassador, what role does Vietnam play in promoting ASEAN-New Zealand relations, especially in its coordinating role for the 2024-2027 period? What are your expectations for the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) between New Zealand and ASEAN in the coming time?

Vietnam has contributed to deepening relations between New Zealand and ASEAN. During Vietnam’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2010, the second New Zealand-ASEAN Summit was held in Hanoi. Ten years later, as ASEAN Chair in 2020, Vietnam successfully hosted the ASEAN-New Zealand Summit via video conference to mark the 45th anniversary of ASEAN-New Zealand dialogue relations, despite disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Vietnam is currently playing a very important role as the coordinator of ASEAN-New Zealand relations. We appreciate the cooperation with Vietnam in the process towards establishing a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) with ASEAN by 2025.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son chaired the ASEAN-New Zealand Ministerial Meeting within the framework of the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting on July 10 in Malaysia. (Photo: Quang Hoa)

Recently in Kuala Lumpur, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Vietnam Bui Thanh Son and New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters co-chaired the ASEAN-New Zealand Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, and attended the East Asia Summit (EAS) and ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Ministerial Meetings. During these meetings, Minister Peters presented New Zealand’s views on key regional issues, highlighted the importance of strengthening ASEAN-New Zealand relations, and held bilateral meetings with a number of foreign ministers from the region.

New Zealand is proud of its 50 years of enduring friendship with ASEAN and is committed to further investing in cooperation in Southeast Asia. That is why we are pursuing a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with ASEAN – a relationship that is substantive, meaningful, mutually beneficial and reflects New Zealand’s longstanding role as a trusted partner of ASEAN.

Here, I would like to quote a very appropriate Māori proverb: “Titiro whakamuri, kōkiri whakamua” – “looking back, looking forward”. We want to promote sustainable areas of cooperation between ASEAN and New Zealand, including economic and trade integration, maritime security, public service training, peace and stability initiatives, environmental resilience and knowledge sharing opportunities for young business leaders.

We recognise that the elevation of the ASEAN-New Zealand Comprehensive Strategic Partnership marks a significant step forward in our bilateral relationship. With Viet Nam’s continued support and coordination, the ASEAN-New Zealand partnership will continue to be strengthened and bring tangible benefits to our peoples.

Vietnam is entering a new era. What are your expectations for Vietnam's role in contributing to the development of ASEAN and ASEAN's relations with its partners?

We congratulate Vietnam on the 30th anniversary of its accession to ASEAN.

Since officially becoming a member of ASEAN in 1995, Vietnam’s economy has grown 20-fold, and is now among the world’s 40 largest economies. Its dynamic growth, role as a regional manufacturing hub, and extensive network of free trade agreements have made Vietnam a key player in the process of regional and global economic integration.

Vietnam has the opportunity to leverage its influence as a regional leader to further advance ASEAN’s regional economic and trade integration goals – both through ASEAN mechanisms, and in its rotating chairmanship of two important regional mechanisms, the CPTPP in 2026 and APEC in 2027.

We expect Vietnam to continue to play an active role in shaping ASEAN's strategic orientation, contributing to maintaining a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific region, especially in the context of the world facing many uncertainties.

At the same time, we look forward to Vietnam's continued contributions to the region's shared prosperity through digital transformation, green growth and enhanced connectivity - leveraging the competitive advantages of a country with a young, tech-savvy and industrious population.

New Zealand looks forward to further deepening its partnership with Vietnam and ASEAN on this shared journey.

Thank you very much Ambassador!

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/dai-su-new-zealand-viet-nam-la-nhan-to-tich-cuc-dinh-hinh-chien-luoc-cua-asean-323402.html