New Zealand Parliament Speaker arrives in Hanoi, begins official visit to Vietnam

On the morning of August 27, Speaker of the New Zealand Parliament Gerry Brownlee arrived in Hanoi, beginning an official visit to Vietnam from August 27 to 31, at the invitation of National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Anh Tuan welcomed Speaker of the New Zealand Parliament Gerry Brownlee at Noi Bai International Airport. Photo: Minh Duc/VNA

Welcoming the delegation at Noi Bai International Airport were: Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Anh Tuan; Ambassador Caroline Rachel Beresford and a number of officials from the New Zealand Embassy in Vietnam.

Accompanying New Zealand Parliament Speaker Gerry Brownlee on his official visit to Vietnam were Mr. Jamie Arbuckle (New Zealand First Party), Member of Parliament; Dr. Parmjeet Parmar (ACT Party), Member of Parliament; Ms. Lan Pham (Green Party), Member of Parliament; Ms. Jenny Salesa (Labour Party), Member of Parliament for Panmure-Ötāuhu; Mr. Sam Uffindell (National Party), Member of Parliament for Tauranga.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Anh Tuan welcomed Speaker of the New Zealand Parliament Gerry Brownlee at Noi Bai International Airport. Photo: Minh Duc/VNA

Gerry Brownlee, Speaker of the New Zealand Parliament, was born on February 4, 1956. He was a member of the National Assembly, representing the Ilam constituency from 1996 to 2020. He held the following positions: Minister for Energy and Resources from 2008 to 2011, Minister for Transport from 2011 to 2014, and Minister for Defence from 2014 to 2017. He was Minister for Government Affairs in the National Assembly from 2008 to 2017.

From 2018 to 2020, he held the following positions: Spokesperson of the National Party; Vice Chairman of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee of the New Zealand Parliament; Member of the Intelligence and Security Committee of the New Zealand Parliament; President of the New Zealand Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. During the 2020-2023 period, he was a member of the National Assembly, representing the National Party. From December 5, 2023 to present, he has held the position of Speaker of the 32nd Parliament of New Zealand.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Anh Tuan welcomed Speaker of the New Zealand Parliament Gerry Brownlee at Noi Bai International Airport. Photo: Minh Duc/VNA

The official visit to Vietnam by Speaker of the New Zealand Parliament Gerry Brownlee took place on the occasion of the two countries celebrating the 50th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations (June 19, 1975 - June 19, 2025).

Viet Duc (Vietnam News Agency)

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/chinh-tri/chu-tich-quoc-hoi-new-zealand-den-ha-noi-bat-dau-tham-chinh-thuc-viet-nam-20250827132157614.htm