In a more contested, fragmented and volatile world, cooperation, and collaboration, with key international partners is essential to addressing shared challenges. We have continued to work closely with likeminded partners to advance and defend New Zealand’s foreign policy interests.
As New Zealand’s only ally, Australia is an essential partner across a range of shared interests. High-level engagement between our Prime Ministers and Ministers continued in 2025–26 through Australia New Zealand Leaders’ Meetings and the 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministers’ Dialogue; as well as more than 25 ministerial visits across the Tasman.
Progress was made to operationalise the Alliance, with an agreed objective of achieving an increasingly integrated, combat capable Anzac force by 2035. A regulatory alignment work programme is focused on deepening bilateral economic integration. New Zealand and Australia continue to coordinate closely on our Pacific and Indo-Pacific regional engagement, and in regional and multilateral fora.
The United States (US) remains a critical partner, with which New Zealand shares a deep, enduring relationship. The change in US Administration in 2025 saw significant shifts in US foreign policy priorities and direction, including an explicit focus on “America first” foreign policy objectives. This has had a range of implications for New Zealand and our international partners.
The Ministry has focused on maintaining constructive senior political-level connections, including engagement at the Leader and Ministerial levels. We have engaged the US in a deliberate way on priority issues for New Zealand. For example, we have encouraged continued, and constructive, US engagement, and cooperation in the Pacific, in the Indo-Pacific and in Antarctica. We have urged dialogue and de-escalation in relation to the conflict in the Middle East.
Some Administration actions, such as the unilateral imposition of tariffs, have challenged New Zealand’s interests. We have continued to advocate against these measures, rejecting the US’ claim of “forced labour in supply chains” as the basis for imposing tariffs on New Zealand exports.
Regular high-level ministerial engagement across foreign affairs, defence, climate, and trade reinforced the importance of New Zealand’s partnership and cooperation with the United Kingdom (UK) on a range of issues. We continued to deepen connections with Canada, including through the launch of a new Strategic Dialogue, led by respective foreign ministry heads,’ to further enable engagement on geopolitical issues.
We maintain close cooperation with Australia, Canada, the UK and the US across a broad range of issues, including through the Five Eyes security and intelligence partnership, consular cooperation, and the Five Country Ministerial meeting covering national security matters.
Progress has been made in deepening defence and security partnerships with other likeminded partners. This included signing two important security agreements with Japan, and. agreeing with the European Union (EU) to progress work towards a Security and Defence Partnership and an Information Sharing Agreement.
New Zealand continues to partner with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), including through the NATO Indo-Pacific Four (IP4), which aims to deepen cooperation between NATO and New Zealand, Australia, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK). The Prime Minister attended the NATO Summit in 2025 and the Minister of Defence attending in 2026. As well as engaging with NATO members on shared security concerns, the Prime Minister and Minister of Defence met with regional counterparts in the IP4 configuration.
New Zealand has continued to work alongside partners to provide support for Ukraine’s self defence against Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion. This included a NZD$15 million contribution to NATO’s Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) to supply Ukraine with weapons and equipment, along with an additional NZD$13 million support package for humanitarian and reconstruction assistance. In response to a request from Ukraine, the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) has continued the delivery of training to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
As progress through multilateral consensus becomes more challenging, New Zealand is pursuing opportunities to advance shared foreign policy objectives by working with a range of partners in plurilateral and minilateral groupings.
This year, for example, we participated in an inaugural Foreign Ministers meeting of Australia, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Poland, the ROK and the UK in the margins of the 2025 UN General Assembly (UNGA). Ministers discussed Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific security and reaffirmed our shared interests in open, free and fair trade, rule of law, democracy, sovereignty and human rights.
In September 2025, New Zealand was one of four founding members of the Future of Investment and Trade Partnership (FIT-P). Having subsequently evolved into a multi-regional grouping of 16 small-to-medium, trade dependent economies, the FIT-P is committed to promoting a forward-looking investment and trade agenda. FIT-P also proved a useful mechanism when faced with supply chain disruptions resulting from the Middle East crisis this year.
New Zealand continues to support international efforts to hold actors accountable for actions that threaten global peace and security. We have maintained our contribution to the Pacific Security Maritime Exchange and Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team, which upholds United Nations Security Council sanctions against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, including through the deployment of NZDF air and maritime assets. Over the past year, we have taken action to counter malicious cyber activity. This has included announcing sanctions against Russian cyber actors and issuing cyber security advisories that support New Zealand entities to protect themselves against state-sponsored cyber threats.
We have continued to express New Zealand’s strong support for maritime security by supporting diplomatic initiatives aimed at defending international rules and norms around freedom of navigation. Looking ahead, we will continue to strengthen engagement with likeminded partners, while seeking opportunities to advance and protect New Zealand interests through new plurilateral and minilateral initiatives.
Case study: Future of Investment and Trade Partnership: new minilateral grouping helps combat fuel supply disruption
In an era of growing pressure on the rules-based international system, New Zealand aims to uphold critical multilateral rules and institutions, while also pursuing new, purpose-built minilateral groupings to advance and defend our interests.
The FIT-P is such a grouping. In September 2025, New Zealand became one of four founding members of the FIT-P. This grouping has since evolved into a multi-regional grouping of 16 small-to-medium economies committed to promoting a forward-looking investment and trade agenda.
The Ministry played a leading role in shaping the FIT-P agenda to address emerging trade issues, generate trade and investment opportunities amongst members, and foster economic growth and security. FIT-P has four priority areas: supply chain resilience, investment facilitation, reducing non-tariff barriers, and integrating trade technologies. The FIT-P is an incubator for new ideas, enabling members to test and advance practical solutions and inform wider global discussions.
The FIT-P demonstrated its value early. In 2026, the Middle East crisis disrupted global fuel supply chains. These disruptions impacted New Zealand. As a small, geographically distant, trading economy, we rely heavily on imported fuel. Around 95 percent of this is sourced from Southeast Asian refineries, which in-turn are dependent on Gulf oil supplies.
FIT-P members worked together to issue a Joint Statement on Maintaining Open and Resilient Supply Chains. They also cooperated to share information and coordinate responses. This included identifying alternative supply routes and supporting restoration of disrupted trade flows.
This cooperation through FIT-P was directly relevant to New Zealanders. Coordinated international action can have more impact than action by individual countries. Working collaboratively with likeminded partners helps mitigate risks to energy security and economic stability, reducing impacts on businesses and households.
New Zealand further strengthened this work by hosting the second FIT-P Ministerial Meeting in Auckland in July 2026, one of the largest and most diverse trade-focused gatherings to be hosted in New Zealand in many years.
The FIT-P demonstrates how early engagement, and proactive cooperation with diverse groupings of partners can help New Zealand advance specific, foreign policy objectives, including when broader multilateral processes are constrained.