NZ, Vietnam aim to double two-way trade to $2.2B by 2020

New Zealand and Vietnam aim to double two-way goods and service trade to about $2.2 billion by 2020.

The target was announced following a meeting between New Zealand Prime Minister John Key and Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung at Government House in Auckland.

Vietnam was New Zealand's fastest-growing trading partner in southeast Asia the past five years, with two-way goods and services traded increasing 120 percent since 2009. That growth gave the leaders confidence the new target could be met, Key said in a statement.

The countries also signed a cooperation arrangement on food safety and an air services agreement which will provide greater choice for New Zealanders flying to Vietnam. Talks also covered plans to expand links in education and agriculture, and work more closely together on defence issues, including United Nations peacekeeping.

In 2014, New Zealand exported $548 million of goods to Vietnam and imported about $493 million of goods from the country, according to Statistics New Zealand data.