Americas

Our relationship with the Americas and Caribbean

New Zealand has connections with a range of countries throughout North America, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Our relationships with Canada and the United States are amongst our closest and most long-standing, based on shared democratic values and common interests. We work together on a full range of international issues.

We also have a lot in common with Latin America. Agricultural production is important to many of the region’s economies, as it is to New Zealand, and we are working together to support global agricultural and fisheries reform. We also cooperate closely on areas such as climate change and the environment, Antarctic issues, disarmament, human rights, and Indigenous issues.

Meanwhile, New Zealand shares a number of commonalities with the Caribbean, including, our membership of the Commonwealth, a focus on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) issues, and a commitment to multilateralism and combatting climate change.

Alongside free trade agreements with individual economies in the Americas, New Zealand has several plurilateral agreements that exporters can take advantage of. These include:

• Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability (ACCTS)
• Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)
• Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF)

The New Zealand International Development Cooperation Programme has worked with Latin America since the 1970s. The support to Latin America and the Caribbean comprises programme funding for scholarships, regional initiatives on climate smart agriculture, renewable energy and disaster-risk management, Partnerships Fund activities, and humanitarian responses.

Read more about the New Zealand International Development Cooperation Programme in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Regional relationships

New Zealand has formal diplomatic relationships with the Caribbean Community(external link) (CARICOM) Secretariat and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States(external link) (OECS), as well as a long-standing dialogue with Mercosur(external link) (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) and the Pacific Alliance (Chile, Colombia, Peru and Chile).