Vietnamese Ambassador to New Zealand Ta Van Thong (left) and New Zealand’s Governor General Dame Patsy Reddy (Photo: VNA)

At a ceremony on Tuesday to receive the credentials from the new Vietnamese Ambassador to New Zealand Ta Van Thong, New Zealand’s Governor General Dame Patsy Reddy praised the strong development of bilateral relations throughout the past 43 years since the two countries set up diplomatic ties in politics, security, economics, and people exchange. She said Vietnam plays an important role in multilateral institutions, including the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, and in free trade agreements (FTA) such as the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand FTA and the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).