Ireland

Our relationship with Ireland

New Zealand has a warm and friendly relationship with Ireland – with deep personal and cultural links. Around one in every six New Zealanders claims Irish descent and St Patrick’s Day is widely celebrated throughout the country each year.

Diplomatic relations were established in 1966, with the New Zealand Embassy in Dublin and Ireland Embassy in Wellington both opening in 2018. 

We have close cooperation on foreign policy issues such as climate change, disarmament, and human rights. Ireland is a partner in the Small Advanced Economies Initiative established by New Zealand.

Like New Zealand, Ireland is committed to working to achieve a more peaceful, secure, and prosperous world, and recognises that the spread of weapons fuels conflict, contributes to human rights abuses, and hinders human development. Promoting disarmament, is one of five signature foreign policies for Ireland and both countries work closely together as part of the New Agenda Coalition.

Trade and investment

The Irish Business Network of New Zealand(external link) (IBNNZ), established in 2015, promotes business relationships, trade and investment between Ireland and New Zealand.

In July 2023, New Zealand and the EU signed a high-quality, comprehensive, and progressive Free Trade Agreement which entered into force in May 2024. As a European Union member state, Ireland is party to the EU-NZ FTA. The FTA contains world-leading commitments on sustainable and inclusive trade.

The latest information about New Zealand's trade profile with Ireland is available on the New Zealand Trade Dashboard(external link).

People and culture

New Zealand remains involved with the International Fund for Ireland, an independent international body set up by the British and Irish Governments in 1986 to promote economic and social advancement, and to encourage dialogue and reconciliation between nationalists and unionists throughout Ireland.

Information for young Irish citizens interested in living and working in New Zealand can be found on Immigration New Zealand’s Ireland Working Holiday visa(external link) website.

Young New Zealand citizens looking to work/study in Ireland can find more information on the Embassy of Ireland, Wellington, New Zealand(external link) website.

The New Zealand Ireland Association(external link) holds events and get-togethers throughout the year for New Zealanders in Ireland and Irish citizens who have an interest in New Zealand.

Aid and sustainability

Ireland and New Zealand cooperate across a range of agriculture initiatives. We share very similar grass-fed and pasture-based farming systems, and face similar climate mitigation and adaptation challenges. We work closely in the agriculture and land use negotiation forums in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and in the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on, particularly, livestock issues, and have co-financed a paper on agriculture and climate change with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

There is regular dialogue between New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries and the Irish Department of Agriculture, underpinned by a strategic cooperation agreement and a Joint Research Initiative. We also collaborate closely in the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Emissions.

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