The launching ceremony.

Coming on the eve of the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between New Zealand and Vietnam in 2020, the competition calls for entrants to design a creative logo that represents the strong bilateral relationship.

The logo should display innovative and modern design styles with clear shapes and colors.

“2020 is a milestone year for our bilateral relationship as we celebrate 45 years of diplomatic relations,” said New Zealand Ambassador to Vietnam, H.E Wendy Matthews.

“The partnership is going from strength to strength. I am pleased to have the opportunity to commemorate the thriving links between our two countries’ through activities such as this exciting logo competition," he said

Creative Vietnamese of all ages are welcome to join the competition. The winner will receive a prize of VND8 million ($350) while the winner of the “most liked” online voting prize will receive a voucher to buy a Kindle.

All participants can submit up to five logos, formatted to a jpeg file at least 3MB but not larger than 5MB, to be sent to [email protected] by 12 midnight on January 6.

The winner will be announced on February 6, on New Zealand’s national day - Waitangi Day.

“The winning logo from this competition will be an important expression of the friendly and dynamic relationship between New Zealand and Vietnam,” said Ambassador Williams.

“The winning logo will be a core part of the branding for the events and activities we will undertake in 2020 to mark this important milestone. I am looking forward to celebrating this anniversary year, and I can’t wait to see all of the fabulous logos from some of Vietnam’s most creative minds,” he said.

The competition is being run through the Embassy’s Facebook Fanpage at https://www.facebook.com/nzembassyvietnam.

Education New Zealand and a guest speaker from New Zealand also joined the Ambassador to share information on study in New Zealand.

“Education is a key pillar in the New Zealand - Vietnam relationship. New Zealand is proud to be a world-class education destination, including in many creative and design fields. New Zealanders have a long tradition of mixing creative innovation with practical solutions and I am sure the information that was shared by Education New Zealand and our guest speaker today will be very beneficial for students,” Ambassador Matthews concluded

2020 marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between New Zealand and Vietnam.

In the last four decades, the relationship has grown strongly in many areas and is on track to progress from a comprehensive partnership to a strategic one.

Both countries are among the top 20 trading partners of each other, with bilateral trade more than tripling since 2009, when the AANZFTA was signed.

People-to-people links are thriving, with increasing tourism in both directions and New Zealand receiving a growing number of Vietnamese students.

Vietnamese students are increasingly choosing a New Zealand education as the best option to prepare them for the future of work and a successful career.

Vietnamese student numbers in New Zealand grew 30 per cent between 2016- 2018. Currently, 2,772 Vietnamese students are studying in the country.