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Embassies and consular services for Brunei Darussalam
| Location | Service areas |
|---|---|
| High Commission of Brunei Darussalam |
Our relationship with Brunei Darussalam
New Zealand has a warm and friendly relationship with Brunei. Our cooperation extends across defence, trade, and education.
As active economies in the Indo-Pacific regional, Brunei and New Zealand have regular engagement with one another in regional fora. These fora include:
- The East Asia Summit (EAS) and Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), which Brunei Chaired in 2021;
- the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), which New Zealand chaired in 2021; and
- the Commonwealth.
As a Muslim-majority nation, Brunei is also a member of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC).
Cooperation
In 2018, then Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters signed the New Zealand-Brunei Bilateral Cooperation Arrangement with Brunei’s Foreign Minister (II), Dato Erywan. This Agreement shall establish a framework to promote and encourage bilateral cooperation, and to strengthen relations and develop exchanges in various fields.
Education
Around 100 students from Brunei study in New Zealand each year. Otago and Auckland Universities have an arrangement with the Brunei government in which they take a small number of Bruneian medical and dental students.
People-to-people links
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 150 New Zealanders were registered with the Ministry as living in Brunei, many working as teachers. Several New Zealand pilots and engineers work for Royal Brunei Airlines. Other New Zealanders work in Brunei’s oil and gas sector and as professional consultants. The New Zealand Defence Force has bilateral engagement with Brunei, including military exercises, training assistance and annual discussions.
Trade
2020 statistics
| Total trade in goods | $66 million | |
| Exports to Brunei | $10 million | Top exports: travel services, dairy and machinery |
| Imports from Brunei | $56.3 million | Top imports: textiles |
| GDP (2018) | US$12.02 billion | |
| GDP per capita (last figures 2018) | US$27,466 | |
| GDP growth (2018) | -11.6% | |
Free trade agreements with Brunei
Brunei and New Zealand have similar views on trade liberalisation. We have four regional free trade agreements that include Brunei:
- The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)
- The Agreement establishing the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA);
- The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP); and
- The Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (P4).
The cooperation with Brunei is particularly rich in AANZFTA, where Brunei is the country coordinator for ASEAN.
Embassies
- New Zealand is represented in Brunei by the New Zealand High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Brunei is represented in New Zealand by a non-resident High Commissioner to New Zealand, based in Brunei. You can contact their office through the Brunei Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade(external link)
Recent official calls
- May 2021: Minister of Trade and Export Growth Damien O’Connor and Minister of State for Trade and Export Growth Phil Twyford had a call with Brunei Minister of Finance and Economy II, Dato Dr Amin.
- June 2021: Minister of Foreign Affairs Nanaia Mahuta had a call with Brunei Minister of Foreign Affairs II, Erywan Yusof.
- October 2021: Minister of Foreign Affairs Nanaia Mahuta had a call with Brunei Minister of Foreign Affairs II, Erywan Yusof.