Shaping the vision and policies to take the ASEAN-New Zealand development partnership to new heights

On the morning of October 28, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, leaders of ASEAN countries and New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon attended the Summit to celebrate 50 years of ASEAN-New Zealand relations.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attends the Summit to celebrate 50 years of ASEAN-New Zealand relations. (Photo: NHAT BAC/VGP)

At the Conference, ASEAN Chair 2025 Malaysia, ASEAN Leaders and New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon all thanked and appreciated Vietnam's efforts, in its role as coordinator of the ASEAN-New Zealand dialogue relations for the period July 2024-July 2027, for actively coordinating and completing negotiations on important documents, upgrading ASEAN-New Zealand relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, laying the foundation for stronger development of ASEAN-New Zealand relations and cooperation in the future.

The ASEAN and New Zealand Leaders reaffirmed the importance of the legacy of strong cooperation after half a century with many outstanding results in the fields of politics -security, economy-trade, people-to-people exchange and development cooperation and emphasized that this Commemorative Summit is an opportunity for both sides not only to look back on the cooperation journey, but also to shape the vision and policies, bringing the development partnership to new heights.

Scene of the Summit to celebrate 50 years of ASEAN-New Zealand relations. (Photo: NHAT BAC/VGP)

ASEAN and New Zealand Leaders adopted the Joint Vision Statement commemorating 50 years of ASEAN-New Zealand dialogue relations, agreeing to upgrade the relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, with four pillars of cooperation on Peace, Prosperity, People and Planet.

The conference also agreed to adopt the ASEAN-New Zealand Action Plan 2026-2030 to immediately implement specific cooperation contents.

Entering a new chapter in the relationship, the two sides reaffirmed their strong commitment to promoting multilateralism, ensuring peace, stability and development cooperation in the region, towards building an open, transparent, inclusive and rule-based regional structure, with ASEAN playing a central role.

The two sides also agreed to effectively implement the newly upgraded ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA), support the implementation of the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Digital Economy (DEFA), strengthen cooperation in responding to non-traditional security challenges such as cyber security, transnational crime, pandemics and climate change; promote digital-green economic integration, enhance digital capacity for MSMEs, expand cooperation in clean energy, innovation, AI management and development, etc.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon speaks at the Conference. (Photo: NHAT BAC/VGP)

The conference also agreed to promote people-to-people exchanges and cultural-educational cooperation through scholarship programs, vocational training, and student exchanges; enhance policy and professional exchanges on heritage conservation and creative cultural industry development; promote cooperation in green transformation, sustainable agriculture, and improve disaster risk forecasting and mitigation capacity; and support increased connectivity and narrowing the development gap within ASEAN.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon affirmed that as one of ASEAN's oldest partners, New Zealand always attaches importance to promoting close, trustworthy and substantive cooperation with ASEAN as well as with ASEAN member countries.

New Zealand supports ASEAN's solidarity, centrality and efforts to build a resilient, inclusive and sustainable community. In the coming time, New Zealand commits to contributing resources to implement the Action Plan for the period 2026-2030, including 147 million NZD in climate finance support, 27 million NZD in support of developing environmentally friendly technology, establishing an ASEAN-New Zealand Vision Fund with 25 million NZD to implement initiatives on economic cooperation, climate change and environment, expanding the Manaaki New Zealand Scholarship Programme for ASEAN, establishing the ASEAN-New Zealand Trade Academy to improve the quality of cooperation, and strengthen sub-regional cooperation, including the Mekong Sub-region.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh proposed three main cooperation focuses to concretize the new ASEAN-New Zealand cooperation framework. (Photo: NHAT BAC/VGP)

Speaking at the Conference, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized the historical significance of the establishment of the ASEAN-New Zealand Comprehensive Strategic Partnership on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of bilateral relations; assessing that this event reflects the maturity, closeness and depth of cooperation, contributing to enhancing the role and international position of ASEAN and New Zealand in the context of many changes in the world. Vietnam is proud to build and nurture the relationship with other countries and witness the sweet fruits today.

To concretize the new cooperation framework, the Prime Minister proposed three main cooperation focuses:

Firstly, maintain a peaceful, stable and cooperative environment for inclusive and sustainable development, jointly contribute to building an open, transparent, inclusive and rule-based regional structure, and continue to strongly support ASEAN's stance on the East Sea.

Second, promote economic connectivity, promote new growth drivers based on science, technology and innovation, effectively implement the upgraded ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand FTA, and support ASEAN in negotiating and implementing the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA).

Third, strengthen people-to-people connections, taking people as the center, the subject, and the driving force of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, promote high-quality human resource training, and strengthen institute-school-enterprise linkages, promote social resources and the private sector in the spirit of a creative State, pioneering enterprises, public-private action, a prosperous region, and happy people.

In its role as a coordinator, Vietnam has always been proactive, active, and responsible in contributing to and promoting negotiations on two important documents, including the ASEAN-New Zealand Joint Vision Statement and the Action Plan for the 2026-2030 period, guiding the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in the coming period.

These two important documents received high support from countries and were adopted by the ASEAN-New Zealand 50th Anniversary Summit.

Ha Thanh Giang

Source: https://nhandan.vn/dinh-hinh-tam-nhin-chinh-sach-dua-quan-he-doi-tac-phat-trien-asean-new-zealand-len-tam-cao-moi-post918648.html