Speech
Viet Nam State Dinner Speech
E nga mana, e nga reo, o nga hau e wha
Nga mihi nui ki a koutou no Aotearoa.
Esteemed people of many languages from the four corners of the earth,
Greetings to you all from New Zealand.
President Tran Duc Luong, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen.
It is a great honour for me and my husband Peter to be here this evening. In the few hours I have been in this beautiful country it has already become clear to me that the relationship between Viet Nam and New Zealand is characterised by very high levels of goodwill.
I truly appreciated the warm welcome accorded to me at the Presidential Palace. In my discussions with the President, we talked about the huge scope there is to build on our common interests.
This year marks the 30th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations, and our two Governments deliberately chose this milestone as a basis on which to develop our existing links and create new ones.
Viet Nam and New Zealand cooperate closely in both regional and international politics. For example, New Zealand has been pleased to be one of the first countries to publicly endorse Viet Nam's candidature for the UN Security Council.
New Zealand has been grateful for the support Viet Nam has given to its association with various regional initiatives, notably those involving ASEAN and the East Asia Community.
We are also impressed with the role Viet Nam has agreed to undertake as the host of APEC in 2006.
Bilateral trade is healthy and growing. Education, investment and tourism links are multiplying. New Zealand's development assistance programme here will triple in the next three years.
Security is amongst the new links we are seeking to develop. There have been steadily increasing defence ties, as is evident from the presence here tonight of the Defence Attach, who is accredited from a nearby post.
The intention to build on our ties during the 30th Anniversary Year has been underlined by several important activities.
A highlight for us in New Zealand was the visit by Prime Minister Phan Van Khai and his delegation last May. During that visit the two Prime Ministers signed the New Zealand - Viet Nam Joint Declaration of Cooperation, which is a framework for our future ties.
The 30th Anniversary year was also highlighted during New Zealand promotional weeks in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Visits in both directions included a visit to Viet Nam by former WTO Secretary-General the Rt Hon Mike Moore, and the visit of Vice Minister Phan The Rue ("Fun Tay Zway") who led a delegation to the inaugural Joint Trade and Economic Commission meeting in Wellington last month.
And a couple of weeks ago, I was delighted to host over 100 members of the Vietnamese community in New Zealand at Government House in Wellington. This was a highly enjoyable event and it gave me a chance to prepare for my visit here and to see what a large contribution the Vietnamese community is making in New Zealand.
This visit is the first ever State Visit and is therefore an important landmark for both Viet Nam and New Zealand. The momentum we have generated this year will provide a springboard for an even more dynamic and rich relationship. This process is destined to bring the people of our two nations closer together in the future.
Mr President, one of our greatest countrymen, the conqueror of Mount Everest Sir Edmund Hillary, once said: "I think most of our major challenges are not going to be in the physical field at all. I think they're going to be in the field of human relations, of getting on with each other, of contributing." I echo those sentiments and may I say that your warm welcome here this evening gives me the greatest confidence that our friendship will continue to grow.
I would like to propose a toast to H E President Tran Duc Luong, and to a bright future for the relationship between New Zealand and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam.