The Governor-General was meeting with President Tran Duc Luong, discussing measures to strengthen co-operation in the spirit of the Joint Statement signed during Prime Minister Phan Van Khai's visit to New Zealand last May.

The President said the governor-general's official visit was especially appreciated because not only was it the first such visit but also part of the activities to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the two countries establishment of diplomatic ties.

He expected that negotiations with New Zealand for Viet Nam's admission to the WTO would be completed as soon as possible.

The President noted the key achievements of the New Zealand people, especially those of 2004 when economic growth rate reached 4.5 per cent and it earned a high-ranking position within the countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

He congratulated the newly-formed New Zealand Government and Prime Minister Helen Clark who had won the job for the third time since 1999.

The President expressed the belief that the New Zealand people would continue their great achievements and occupy a high position in both the region and the world.

He also thanked New Zealand for its decision to triple Official Development Aid (ODA) for Viet Nam in the fiscal year 2007-08, its pledge to help the country prepare and host the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation Forum (APEC) Summit in Ha Noi next year and its support for Viet Nam to become a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for 2008-09.

The President and the Governor-General exchanged ideas about international and regional co-operation and co-ordination between their two countries.

This included the ASEAN- New Zealand Dialogue, the East Asia Summit, APEC, the WTO and the United Nations.

They discussed key orientations for strengthening their friendly relations and co-operation of their countries in the spirit of the Joint Statement and international and regional issues of mutual concern.

Both the President and his guest expressed their satisfaction at the fine relations that had developed between their countries during the last 30 years and said that relevant agencies needed to outline detailed action programmes to implement the Joint Statement.

They also agreed on measures to promote co-operation between their countries especially in economy, trade, investment, education and tourism./.