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The Latin America Strategy (LAS) is a plan launched by the New Zealand government in 2000, designed to develop New Zealand’s relationship with Latin America. The Strategy was established to recognise that this region holds great, but unrealised, potential for New Zealand.
Latin America stretches from the Antarctic regions of Chile in the south to Mexico in the north, and is home to more than 500 million people.
The Strategy identifies three aspects of New Zealand’s relationship with Latin America, each of equal importance, which it seeks to develop: political links, trade and economic links and people-to-people links. The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade administers a fund of $250,000 per year to help achieve these objectives.
Latin America is a rapidly growing region; its population is forecast to reach 625 million by 2015. There has been significant New Zealand investment in the region, and New Zealand has particular experience and expertise in a number of fields that are or could be of interest to Latin America. Sectors of note include agricultural technology, resource management, ecotourism, indigenous business development and governance and public sector management.
The LAS recognises that academic, cultural, economic, indigenous, media, political, science and technology and sporting links are all important. It provides for a wide range of public and private sector interests to work together and leverage off each other’s activities to build relationships with the region; known as the ‘NZ Inc. approach’.
The LAS identifies the three Latin APEC members (Chile, Mexico, Peru) and the three larger Mercosur members (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay) as focus countries, while noting that activities under the Strategy are open to the entire region. Funds are allocated throughout the year on application to the Americas Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Proposals are assessed on their ability to catalyse ongoing self-sustaining links, usually in collaboration with other funding sources. Consideration is also given to an equitable distribution both geographically and across political, trade and economic and people-to-people links.
For more information on the Latin America Strategy Fund, contact:
Latin America Strategy Fund Administrator
Recently funded activities under the Latin America Strategy.
