Our relationship with South East Asia
South East Asian countries make up one of the fastest-growing markets in the world. It's a region of growing economic importance to New Zealand.
New Zealand's involvement in South East Asia rose sharply after World War II with defence connections and the education-focused Colombo Plan, designed to strengthen the economic and social development of member countries. The relationship now includes areas as diverse as science, technology, tourism, education and agricultural cooperation.
Formal connections
New Zealand’s formal connections with South East Asian countries include our work with regional organisations such as Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), and the East Asia Summit (EAS), and the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) as well as international organisations such as the United Nations, and the World Trade Organisation (WTO). New Zealand’s Mission to ASEAN was formally opened in 2015.
ASEAN
ASEAN is a political and economic community of 10 South East Asian nations - Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam. It is a very important partner to New Zealand and we work with ASEAN through the East Asia Summit, and the Asia-Europe Meeting.
In 2009, New Zealand and Australia signed a fair trade agreement (the AANZFTA) with ASEAN, and in 2013 the New Zealand Government launched the New Zealand Inc Strategy for ASEAN. This aims to coordinate efforts across New Zealand government, business and the wider community as we engage with these nations.
Find out more about ASEAN
Find out more about the NZ Inc ASEAN Strategy
Trade
Trade with South East Asia accounts for 10% of our exports and 14% of our imports - a combined value of $12.34 billion in the year to June 2016.
The services market is also flourishing, particularly in education and tourism. In 2016, more than 121,000 ASEAN tourists visited New Zealand, making it one of New Zealand's larger tourism markets. Between 2015 and 2016, visitor numbers increased 48% from Malaysia, 19% from Singapore, and 51% from Indonesia. There were more than 12,700 ASEAN students in New Zealand in 2016.
Trade agreements and negotiations
We have two regional free trade agreements:
We're also negotiating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which includes the 10 ASEAN countries and six countries including New Zealand that have FTAs with ASEAN: Australia, China, India, Japan and Korea.
Aid
As well as country-specific support to Indonesia, Myanmar and Timor-Leste, the New Zealand Aid Programme supports regional initiatives in the Greater Mekong Sub-region. These include the Mekong Institute, the United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking, and the Mekong River Commission (external link), and other ASEAN-led initiatives such as the ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance Centre.
Our aid programme in ASEAN countries is about using New Zealand’s expertise in agriculture, knowledge and skills, and disaster risk management to support sustainable economic development, while our programme with Indonesia has a particular focus on the least-developed provinces in Eastern Indonesia is our largest outside the Pacific.
Find out more about our aid work with Asia
Embassies and consular services
