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On the same day, New Zealand's Minister of Defence and Minister of Trade Phil Goff, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters gave a banquet in honour of Vice President Truong My Hoa. Relations between Viet Nam and New Zealand, which set up diplomatic relations in June 1975, have seen progresses during recent years. The signing of Viet Nam-New Zealand Declaration on Cooperation during the official visit to New Zealand in May 2005 by the then Prime Minister Phan Van Khai has brought the two countries' friendly cooperation to a comprehensive, long-term and stable framework on the basis of mutual trust. The two countries so far have signed many other agreements, such as the Agreement on Economic and Trade Cooperation, the Agreement on Investment Promotion and Protection, and the Agreement on Aviation. The two countries signed a Framework Agreement on Education and Training in order to boost bilateral cooperation in this field. Two-way trade turnover between the two countries is increasing, though small in terms of quantity. It was valued at 166 million USD in 2005, in which Viet Nam's exports accounting for 47.5 million USD. By May 2006, the oceanic nation ranked 42nd among 74 foreign investors in Viet Nam with 11 projects capitalised at 25.8 million USD. New Zealand has officially granted non-refund aid for Viet Nam since 1995, increasing to 4.7 million NZD in the 2005-06 fiscal year from 3.06 million NZD in the 2004-05 fiscal year. New Zealand's Government announced its decision to triple official development assistance (ODA) for Viet Nam in May 2005 during the official visit by the then Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, which is expected to pass the 10 million NZD level in the 2007-08 fiscal year (VNA). |