On a number of key foreign policy priorities for New Zealand, we have been able to advance and defend our interests more effectively and amplify our international voice by working closely with likeminded partners and in mini-lateral groupings or issue-specific collaborations among a small number of states.
As New Zealand’s only formal ally, Australia is a vital partner that we collaborate with on a broad range of shared interests. Our Prime Ministers and Ministers undertake a substantial annual programme of high-level meetings. These were given further momentum in 2024–25 by joint ministerial meetings between the Foreign Affairs and Defence Ministers, and Finance and Climate Change Ministers.
The United States is a key partner with whom New Zealand has a deep and long-standing relationship. The 2025 change in US Administration saw significant shifts in the priorities and direction of US foreign policy, with a range of implications. The Ministry has focused on supporting the Government to establish connections at the political level and engage the US deliberately on key issues that intersect with New Zealand’s interests.
The Prime Minister’s visit to the United Kingdom in April underlined the importance of our partnership with the UK and reiterated a shared commitment to tackling international global challenges. And the Prime Minister met his new Canadian counterpart on the margins of NATO to reconfirm our close bilateral ties. Overall, we continue to work closely with Australia, Canada, the UK, and the US as part of the Five Eyes security and intelligence partnership, whose members remain pivotal to our national security and economic prosperity, as well as with wider groupings.
Political-level engagement between NATO and its Indo-Pacific Four (IP4) partners — New Zealand, Australia, Japan, and the Republic of Korea — has deepened political level relationships, and practical cooperation, on Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific security issues. In July 2024, the Prime Minister chaired a meeting of the IP4 countries in Washington DC. Four “flagship” cooperation projects were launched on cyber, Ukraine military healthcare, AI, and disinformation.
New Zealand continues to work with partners to provide support and solidarity for Ukraine in its self-defence against Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion. The Foreign Minister made several joint statements with partners on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territories while the Prime Minister issued statements with Australian and Canadian leaders.
In addition to long-standing UN peacekeeping deployments, we successfully concluded our contribution of defence force personnel to an international coalition (with Australia, Canada, Denmark, Kingdom of Bahrain, Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the US) to help uphold maritime security and freedom of navigation in the Red Sea in response to Houthi attacks on commercial and naval vessels.
We became a founding member of the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (with Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Korea, the UK, and US) to strengthen North Korean sanctions monitoring, following the dissolution of a UN Panel of Experts after Russia’s Security Council veto. We increased the tempo of our defence deployments to North Asia, with NZDF ships involved in sanctions monitoring for the first time. This activity supported collective security efforts to detect and deter UN sanctions violations, such as ship-to-ship transfers of illicit material at sea.
Given challenges to the multilateral Wassenaar Agreement, we worked alongside key partners to update our export controls regime to prevent the unwanted proliferation of military and dual use technology. This saw a significant number of permit applications processed during 2024–25 — up more than 21 percent from a year earlier.
Case study: Supporting Ukraine in coordination with key partners
New Zealand has condemned Russia’s illegal, full-scale invasion of Ukraine consistently over the past three years. New Zealand’s position reflects our strong opposition to Russia’s violations of the UN Charter and international law. It also reflects concerns over the regional and global implications of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Collaborating with likeminded partners in responding to Russia’s aggression enabled New Zealand to amplify our voice in defence of the rules-based international order, and strengthened the impact of our contributions to support Ukraine’s self-defence.
Diplomatic support
New Zealand actively contributed to diplomatic efforts including bilaterally with Ukraine and its supporters, in regional and multilateral forums, and through public statements.
New Zealand joined three statements, separately led by the G7 and NATO, condemning North Korean troop deployments and arms transfers to Russia for use against Ukraine. The Prime Minister also issued a joint statement with Australia, Japan, and South Korea which condemned illicit military cooperation between North Korea and Russia.
On 24 February 2025, at the UN General Assembly debate marking three years since Russia started the war, New Zealand helped gather support for a resolution calling for a cessation of Russian hostilities and a peaceful resolution of the war against Ukraine. We have also engaged alongside partners in high-level thematic meetings of Ukraine’s “peace formula” to emphasise that in seeking an end to this war, it will be vital to do so in a way that best achieves a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in accordance with international law.
Military support
In addition to maintaining a consistent principled legal and diplomatic position, New Zealand worked with partners to provide tangible support for Ukraine’s self-defence and national resilience in the face of Russia’s continued aggression. We worked with the UK and other countries across Europe to support the delivery of NZ Defence Force training to thousands of Armed Forces of Ukraine personnel, as well as contributing to intelligence and logistics support. In February 2025, the mandate for this deployment was extended through to December 2026.
We provided new funding for military equipment and materiel through coalitions of likeminded partners, notably: the Drone Coalition for Ukraine (NZD$8 million); NATO's Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine fund (NZD$4Million); and NATO's Comprehensive Assistance Package which supports the rehabilitation of wounded Ukrainian soldiers (NZD$2 million). Working through these shared mechanisms enabled us to be more responsive to Ukraine’s immediate needs.
Sanctions
We also joined international efforts to constrain Russia’s ability to wage war, working in close coordination with likeminded partners to apply additional sanctions through New Zealand’s first unilateral sections regime, the Russia Sanctions Act. These sanctions targeted a wide range of individuals and entities, as well as the “shadow fleet” of Russian vessels that have helped Russia avoid sanctions and maintain revenue from oil trade. Sanctions have also been imposed on actors from North Korea, Iran, and Belarus who have facilitated Russia’s aggression. In total, by 30 June 2025 New Zealand had sanctioned over 1,800 actors and entities across 31 tranches of sanctions since March 2022.
Humanitarian and reconstruction support
New Zealand partnered with international humanitarian organisations to provide NZD$18 million in additional humanitarian assistance for affected communities in Ukraine and for Ukrainians displaced in neighbouring countries. This assistance was delivered through the International Committee of the Red Cross, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and the UN Refugee Agency, as well as some New Zealand NGOs.
New Zealand recognises that Ukraine will need longterm support with its reconstruction and recovery so has partnered with the World Bank-administered Ukraine Relief, Recovery, Reconstruction and Reform Trust Fund to deliver support. A further NZD$3 million contribution to this Fund was announced in February 2025.
In total, announcements made in the period up to 30 June 2025 brought New Zealand’s pledges of financial assistance and in-kind support to Ukraine since the war began to over NZD$168 million.