Latest / Best of Business / Suzannah Jessep: Asia New Zealand Foundation Chief Executive on the importance of Vietnam ahead of PM's visit

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Suzannah Jessep: Asia New Zealand Foundation Chief Executive on the importance of Vietnam ahead of PM's visit · Best of Business

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  Speaker 2: The Prime Minister after Vietnam this week for bilateral talks.
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  Speaker 2: It comes as the New Zealand Asia Foundation put out
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  Speaker 2: a report which explores potential ways that we can improve
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  Speaker 2: this relationship with Vietnam. It includes things like strengthening trade
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  Speaker 2: and stuff like fashion and food, and collaborating on defense
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  Speaker 2: and security matters, which are something top of mind if
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  Speaker 2: you noticed. Susannah Jessup is the chief executive of the
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  Speaker 2: New Zealand Asia Foundation and joins you this morning. Good
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  Speaker 2: morning to says Anna.
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  Speaker 3: Good morning, Andrew lovely to join you.
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  Speaker 2: Very good. Now, look, when we talk about Asia trade,
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  Speaker 2: we know about Indonesia and China, but how much of
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  Speaker 2: a powerhouse is Vietnam these days.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, it's good to think of Vietnam as a pacesetter
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  Speaker 3: in Southeast Asia. It's as you noted, and you're opening
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  Speaker 3: one of the fastest growing economies in the region, I think,
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  Speaker 3: averaging around seven percent. But it's also one of the
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  Speaker 3: most youthful countries in Southeast Asia, which is really helping
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  Speaker 3: to drive that consumption and demand because of that it's
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  Speaker 3: attracting a lot of attention. Is what's called a China
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  Speaker 3: plus one investment destination, where Vietnam is increasingly be chosen
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  Speaker 3: by countries because it's stable and because of that growth,
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  Speaker 3: increasingly influential. So for New Zealand, it's really about connecting
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  Speaker 3: to this growth, as we did with China.
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  Speaker 2: How do you say the name? How do you say
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  Speaker 2: the name? You say Vietnam, I see Vietnam. How should
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  Speaker 2: we say it?
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  Speaker 1: Oh?
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  Speaker 3: Either, I mean it's an extent. No, No, you're good.
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  Speaker 2: Well, if we're working on a bilateral relationship, it always
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  Speaker 2: pays to actually get the name right, you know what
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  Speaker 2: I mean? Yeah, yeah, okay, absolutely, Okay. So this is big,
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  Speaker 2: So you've been studying it. Where can we what can
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  Speaker 2: we offer to each other to strengthen this relationship. Yeah.
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  Speaker 3: In the past, as you rightly noted, it was much
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  Speaker 3: about New Zealand offering development support to Vietnam. So, for example,
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  Speaker 3: in early nineteen sixties, we were a gentleman called doctor
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  Speaker 3: Michael Sheckleton and his team were offering medical care in
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  Speaker 3: sort of treatment during the Vietnam or whereas today it's
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  Speaker 3: much more about mutual opportunity. So looking at areas of
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  Speaker 3: agritech and food production, or looking at New Zealand providing
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  Speaker 3: education services. But you know, we had forty thousand New
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  Speaker 3: Zealand tourists go to Vietnam last year, so that two
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  Speaker 3: way services trade. Fisheries management is another area of priority
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  Speaker 3: for Vietnam, helping with energy transitions, so both looking at
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  Speaker 3: clean green energy options, particularly as AI comes into alone.
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  Speaker 2: Good. In your report you also mentioned defense, and of
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  Speaker 2: course our thoughts are about defense because of the activity
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  Speaker 2: of Chinese naval ships near Australia and New Zealand. You know,
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  Speaker 2: what do you make of all of this and how
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  Speaker 2: could Vietnam help us in defense?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, like late New Zealand, naval and coastal defense is
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  Speaker 3: Vietnam's number one focus.
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  Speaker 1: So they have.
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  Speaker 3: The South China Sea which has claimed parts of Vietnam's
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  Speaker 3: Exclusive economic zone. But there's also concerned along the Mekong
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  Speaker 3: River of militarization and for trade for excess of vessels.
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  Speaker 3: So we two are concerned that our region not be militarized,
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  Speaker 3: and so we would look to work together for modernization
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  Speaker 3: of our militaries, for exercises together, human and disaster relief
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  Speaker 3: assistance and peacekeeping but coming together as two militaries where
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  Speaker 3: we want to see freedom of navigation and a peaceful,
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  Speaker 3: secure region.
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  Speaker 2: Toby also, Zenda, thank you so much for getting up
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  Speaker 2: earlier for us, as Zana testip as the chief executive
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  Speaker 2: of the New Zealand Asia Foundation.
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