Thailand-New Zealand relations/Official visit of PM’s New Zealand

Editorial staff

Thailand and New Zealand agreed to seek cooperation among four sectors of agriculture, energy, education, and tourism.

Prime Minister of New Zealand Christopher Luxon has officially visited Thailand between April 16 and 18. He met Prime Minister and Finance Minister Srettha Thavisin at the Government House on April 17.

Mr Srettha also met New Zealand’s 8 companies covering agriculture, energy, education and tourism. Two countries agreed to cooperate in agriculture, energy, education and tourism.

Two leaders also witnessed the signing of two memorandum of understandings (MoU) between relevant Thai and New Zealand agencies including education and the second is an agreement on supply, repair and maintenance support between Thai Aviation Industries Co., Ltd. and New Zealand’s NZSkydive Limited. The signing ceremony was followed by a joint press conference.

Government Spokesperson Chai Wacharonke said that Mr Srettha has expressed honor to welcome Prime Minister Luxon, together with his delegation. This marks the first visit of a New Zealand Prime Minister to Thailand in eleven years.

The two leaders have agreed to elevate Thailand - New Zealand relations to a “strategic partnership” in 2026 or sooner, which will mark the 70th anniversary of the diplomatic relations. This will create the momentum for the two countries to further expand and deepen cooperation in all dimensions, and to realize the full potential of relations.

Thailand and New Zealand commit to strengthen defense and security cooperation, especially the progress of the Thailand - New Zealand Defense Cooperation Plan. They also agreed to deepen cooperation to tackle transnational organized crimes, in particular on anti-human and drug trafficking, cyber-security, as well as counter-terrorism and violent extremism.

Third is to intensify economic cooperation through setting a goal to triple two-way trade by 2045. This will coincide with the Thailand - New Zealand Closer Economic Partnership (TNZCEP) which itself had tripled bilateral trade since its inception in 2005.

Cooperation on science, technology and innovation, including agri-tech, smart farming, food-tech, renewable energy, precision medicine and digital technology, will also be strengthened.

Mr Srettha also met the New Zealand business delegation, and hoped that this visit would open doors for future investments in Thailand, particularly in the targeted industries and projects, including the landbridge project.

Fourth, both welcomed the progress made to enhance people-to-people relations, as New Zealand is home to some 13,000 Thai nationals, and has always been a popular and enriching destination for Thai students and scholars. Collaboration on education and culture will be further reinforced.

On tourism, Thailand and New Zealand agreed to prioritize visa facilitation as well as a resumption of direct flights to ensure that the goals of welcoming 100,000 New Zealanders to Thailand and 40,000 Thai tourists to New Zealand by next year are reached. The two PM also agreed to explore opportunities to cooperate on sustainable, regenerative, and movie-induced tourism.

Both leaders also discussed the two countries’ roles in contributing to regional and international peace, stability, sustainability, and prosperity. Thailand welcomes New Zealand’s intention to become an ACMECS Development Partner, which aligns with New Zealand’s Strategic Partnership with ASEAN and its aspiration to become a Comprehensive Strategic Partner of ASEAN by 2025.

Mr Srettha also thanked Mr Luxon for his willingness to look into how New Zealand may support Thailand on the latter’s request for OECD membership, and expressed appreciation to New Zealand for supporting Thailand’s candidature to the United Nations Human Rights Council for the term 2025-2027.

The two prime ministers also discussed other regional and global issues. Related to Myanmar, Thailand is monitoring the situation along the Thai - Myanmar border closely, and hopes that the Myanmar parties pursue dialogue towards a peaceful solution, consistent with ASEAN’s five-point consensus.