Thailand and New Zealand have agreed to elevate their bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026, when the two countries celebrate the seventieth anniversary of diplomatic relations.

The Right Honourable Christopher Luxon, Prime Minister of New Zealand, is on an official visit to Thailand between 16-18 April 2024. On this occasion, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin and the Prime Minister of New Zealand issued a joint statement, which  indicates that the Strategic Partnership will entail increased cooperation on areas of mutual interest, such as security, trade and investment, science and technology, culture, education, tourism, and closer people-to-people ties. 

Prime Minister Luxon announced the establishment of a Prime Minister’s Fellowship, to make recommendations on enhancing the bilateral relationship, for each of the next two years leading up to 2026.  Prime Minister Srettha and the Prime Minister of New Zealand have directed the two Foreign Ministries to coordinate with the relevant ministries and agencies to collaborate on establishing a comprehensive Roadmap and Plan of Action for this Strategic Partnership. 

The two Prime Ministers acknowledged the upcoming twentieth anniversary of the Thailand-New Zealand Closer Economic Partnership (TNZCEP) in 2025. Both Prime Ministers looked forward to seeing tariff-free entry for all Thai and New Zealand imports from 1 January 2025. They noted that bilateral trade has more than tripled in the 20 years since the TNZCEP has been in place.

Within the TNZCEP framework, New Zealand Prime Minister Luxon announced a further two-year commitment to New Zealand’s long-standing “Thailand Dairy Development Programme,” which demonstrates New Zealand expertise being used to improve productivity and production in Thailand’s dairy industry.

The two Prime Ministers agreed to look for opportunities to expand economic cooperation and increase two-way trade and investment, in areas of mutual expertise and interest, especially in the fields of science, technology and innovation, such as agri-technology, smart farming and food technology, as well as innovative areas such as digital, gaming, film production, animation, and precision medicine.

In recognition of the vast economic cooperation and potential between the two countries, both Prime Ministers announced a new ambitious joint goal of tripling two-way trade by 2045. They also acknowledged the signing of two Memoranda of Understanding between Thai and New Zealand companies, namely Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company Limited of Thailand and two New Zealand companies - DSH Systems Limited and SEEN Safety Limited, which will play a role in enhancing food quality and sustainability.