Vietnam hopes to make economic cooperation truly an important driver for its relations with Japan, the US, and Australia, Head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission Nguyen Van Binh said on October 30.

A trade working group within the framework of the Ministerial-level Vietnam-Australia Economic Partnership Meeting convened an online meeting on October 27.

The Asia Media Centre in New Zealand ran an article on July 23 covering the formal elevation of Vietnam-New Zealand ties to a strategic partnership level, expressing its belief in the opportunities and potential of this relationship in the future.

ASEAN and New Zealand reiterated the commitment to further intensify their strategic partnership during the teleconferenced eighth meeting of the ASEAN-New Zealand Joint Cooperation Committee on June 25.

Opportunities for Australian firms to invest in Vietnam have never been better than now when the Southeast Asian economy is growing rapidly, said participants at a Vietnam-Australia business dialogue held in Sydney on July 22.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc joined other ASEAN leaders and Australian PM Scott Morrison at an informal working breakfast in Singapore on November 14.

The year 2018 marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Australia. In the last four decades, the relationship has grown from defense cooperation to a comprehensive partnership to a strategic one.

Since its inception in 1967, ASEAN’s growth trajectory has been nothing short of impressive. The economic, social, and political dimensions within the region have been refined, leveraging on nascent interest from other global players. New Zealand is just one of the players which have established rapport with the monolith that is ASEAN.

THE free trade agreement (FTA) between ASEAN, Australia and New Zealand makes Myanmar products more competitive in the two biggest markets in Australasia, according to trade commissioners from Australia and New Zealand.