At a time when our Pacific region faces significant geopolitical challenges, a stable, prosperous, and resilient Blue Pacific Continent is an enduring focus for New Zealand’s foreign policy. We remain committed to partnering with Pacific countries to deliver improved outcomes for our region, and to address both immediate and long-term challenges to their resilience.
New Zealand’s International Development Cooperation (IDC) contributes to better security outcomes in the Pacific through investments in capacity and capability building in border management, maritime security, law enforcement, and regional cooperation — including crises response efforts.
These investments also help counter transnational, serious and organised crime, illegal fishing, and other security threats, while supporting Pacific partners’ ability to maintain stability, uphold sovereignty, and respond effectively to crises and emergencies.
The Ministry supported an intensive programme of high-level visits to deepen New Zealand’s relationships across the Pacific. Prime Minister Luxon visited Papua New Guinea in August 2025 and attended the Pacific Island Forum (PIF) Leaders Meeting in Solomon Islands in September. He led the Prime Minister’s Pacific Tour to Samoa and Tonga in March 2026, building relationships with the new political leaders of both countries, while celebrating the breadth of our broad linkages and people-to-people connections in Polynesia. The inaugural New Zealand–Niue Leaders Meeting took place in November 2025.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rt Hon Winston Peters attended the PIF Foreign Ministers Meeting in Fiji in August 2025 and visited Papua New Guinea in September for its 50th anniversary celebrations. In January 2026, the Minister visited Palau, Fiji, and Kiribati.
During his visit to Tarawa, the Minister signed the Te Mauri Dialogue, the first Kiribati–New Zealand Statement of Partnership. This provides a roadmap to deepen our bilateral relationship across development, regional and global issues. The Minister visited Cook Islands and French Polynesia and attended Samoa Independence Day celebrations in Apia in June 2026.
Minister Peters’ visit to Kiribati also marked the completion of visits by him to all PIF member states within the past three years, underscoring New Zealand’s commitment to maintaining strong high-level political relationships throughout the Pacific.
In 2025–26, the Ministry supported sustainable development in the Pacific through delivery of NZD$637.6 million of IDC support, focused on governance and democratic institutions; security; climate adaptation; and economic and social resilience.
New Zealand responded to all major disaster events in the Pacific, including through provision of critical humanitarian assistance for Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands following Tropical Cyclones in April 2026, and the deployment of a 14-person New Zealand Medical Assistance Team to the Samoa Dengue response in August 2025.
Under the Manaaki New Zealand Scholarship Programme, 32 officials from across the Pacific completed Pacific Diplomatic Training, building capacity in Pacific foreign services and supporting connections and collaboration between Pacific diplomats and officials. This year’s programme included modules delivered in Wellington, Honiara, and at the PIF Secretariat in Suva.
New Zealand’s Climate Finance Commitment 2022–25 (NZD$1.3 billion) concluded in December 2025. Of the total commitment, 61 percent (NZD$813.2 million) supported climate resilience in the Pacific. Addressing climate resilience in the Pacific remains a focus of the IDC Programme, and many resilience outcomes enabled by this funding will continue to be realised beyond the life of the commitment.
Total IDC expenditure was below budget in 2025–26, due to a range of factors that impacted project implementation. These included natural disasters and incidents in the Pacific, changes in partner governments, contractual issues, and delayed launch of internationally co-funded investments. The Ministry is undertaking careful pipeline planning and management for the final year of the 2024–27 triennium, and beyond, to ensure that the multi-year appropriation will be utilised fully.
New Zealand worked closely with regional partners to support a resilient and prosperous Pacific. Robust and effective regional institutions — with the PIF at the centre — are central to this effort.
New Zealand was confirmed as host and Chair of the 56th PIF in 2027, reinforcing our enduring commitment to PIF centrality and providing a significant opportunity for New Zealand to reinforce regional architecture and cooperation.
This will be a major Ministry focus over the next three years, with New Zealand also being part of the ‘Forum Troika’ (comprising the incoming, current, and outgoing Chairs) from 2026–29. Preparations have commenced for hosting, which will require substantial coordination and effort across the Ministry, NZ Inc, and our diplomatic Posts.
Addressing the growing need for regional connectivity remains a New Zealand priority. Recognising ongoing regional air connectivity challenges, we provided transport for North Pacific delegations to and from the 2025 PIF Leaders Meeting in Solomon Islands.
The Government announced further improvements to Pacific visitor visa settings, making it more affordable for Pacific visitors to travel to New Zealand, and building on earlier improvements to visitor visa duration and recognition of certain Australia visas.
Collaboration with Australia on regional priorities continues to deepen. In line with recommendations from the 2024 Activity-based Review 10 of the IDC Programme, we have commenced work with Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on ways to more effectively and efficiently pool resources for joint Pacific projects.
During the year Australia and New Zealand worked with Pacific Island countries and UN development agencies to advocate for and advance ambitious reform that preserves delivery and support in the Pacific.
The Australia and New Zealand-funded Tu’i Vava’u Tonga undersea Information and Communication Technology (ICT) cable was completed. Connecting Vava’u to the Tongan branching unit from the Hawaiki trunk system, this cable will help Tonga’s development of a dynamic, knowledge-based economy, while protecting the resilience of Tonga’s cyber infrastructure. Responding to the impacts of the Middle East crisis on Pacific fuel and critical goods supply chains, and related economic implications, became a major focus of our work in the final quarter of 2025–26. This is expected to continue to be the case in 2026–27.
Our close relationship with Australia was key as we worked to understand the impacts of the Middle East crisis on Pacific countries. We also worked in consultation with the PIF and with The Pacific Community (SPC).
Our response to the Pacific was coordinated, alongside Australia, Japan, and the United States, as well as the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank. New Zealand worked with other development partners on analytical work to better understand the fuel impacts of the crisis on Pacific countries, as well as providing technical assistance and emergency financial support.
Ensuring Pacific diaspora communities in New Zealand are informed about the Government’s work and priorities is a key focus of our Pacific Connections engagements, including through the Ministry’s commitment to building effective partnerships.
The Ministry held its annual Pacific Update outreach from January to March 2026 in 17 locations across New Zealand. Over 750 stakeholders participated, representing a diverse cross-section of Pacific-facing government agencies, local government leaders, community leaders, academics, Pacific business representatives, non-governmental organisations, youth, arts and culture stakeholders.
The Ministry will continue to focus on ensuring impactful development cooperation driven by Pacific partner priorities; strong bilateral relationships; and collaboration with Australia and other likeminded partners on shared priorities.
Case study: New Declarations with the Cook Islands and Niue
New Zealand’s relationships with the Cook Islands and Niue are unique. As members of the Realm of New Zealand, both countries are self-governing in free association with New Zealand. We are connected by history, constitutional ties, our New Zealand citizenship, economic ties and deep people-to-people connections, including our significant Cook Islands and Niuean diaspora communities.
In 2025–26, New Zealand signed two important Declarations with Niue and the Cook Islands. These set out the constitutional parameters of our free association relationships; our shared interests and values; New Zealand’s responsibility for the security and defence of the Realm; and the consultation commitments that underpin the effective functioning of the relationships.
On 13 November 2025, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Niue Prime Minister Hon Dalton Tagelagi held the inaugural annual New Zealand–Niue Leaders’ Meeting, signing a Political Declaration encapsulating the partnership between our countries. The meeting built on a series of engagements between the two Prime Ministers, and the Declaration highlighted the depth of our connection and mutual commitments as Realm partners.
On 1 April 2026, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rt Hon Winston Peters, and Cook Islands Prime Minister Hon Mark Brown signed the Cook Islands–New Zealand Defence and Security Declaration. The Declaration was concluded following a difficult period between the two countries. It provided clarity on core aspects of our constitutional relationship, including in the defence and security domains. It paved the way for normalisation of New Zealand–Cook Islands relations following a series of serious disagreements from late 2024 — and a renewed focus on a shared road ahead for our countries.
As Minister Peters noted, the Declaration was about “setting a course together for the future” in a strategic environment “more complex and contested today than at any other point since New Zealand and the Cook Islands formed our free association relationship in 1965”