The relationship was elevated to a Comprehensive Partnership during Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh’s visit to New Zealand in September 2009, upgraded to a Strategic Partnership in July 2020, and most notably, lifted to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in February 2025 when New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon paid an official visit to Vietnam. They are now actively coordinating the Action Plan for the Vietnam-New Zealand Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for 2025–2030, with a target of reaching 3 billion USD in two-way trade. The two countries also work together to drive cooperation under shared free trade pacts, including the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). In that role, it has partnered with New Zealand to push ASEAN-New Zealand ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, bringing New Zealand into even closer engagement with Southeast Asia. It stands as an important milestone in pushing the Vietnam-New Zealand Comprehensive Strategic Partnership forward in a stronger, more substantive and effective way in the new period.