New Zealand’s deepened focus on Southeast Asia has been backed by a significant lift in International Development Cooperation (IDC) funding for the ASEAN region.
In addition to ASEAN regional initiatives, New Zealand has bilateral programmes in Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, the Philippines, Timor-Leste, and Viet Nam. Thailand and Malaysia receive Manaaki New Zealand Scholarships(external link), and benefit from regional activities.
The development partnerships represent integrated delivery across development, foreign policy, trade, and security and covers our bilateral, multi-country and regional investments, Manaaki New Zealand Scholarships, and Partnering for Impact with New Zealand NGO partnerships.
We work in partnership with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its Member States, and supported Timor-Leste’s accession to ASEAN which took effect in October 2025. In order to have the greatest impact, we support initiatives in mutually agreed areas and in sectors where New Zealand has recognised expertise, such as: climate and economic resilience (renewable energy, climate smart agriculture and disaster risk management); peace and security; and building knowledge and skills through an extensive scholarships programme.
Development cooperation with the ASEAN
New Zealand and ASEAN have a strong history of collaboration to advance peace, stability and prosperity. Our programmes aim to narrow the development gap within and among ASEAN Member States and to achieve more balanced and inclusive development across the ASEAN region.
Our relationship is characterised by breadth and depth – as trading partners, defence and security partners, and with our strong history of development cooperation and people-to-people links.
Our development partnership with ASEAN focuses on three priority areas:
- Climate and economic resilience: renewable energy, climate smart agriculture, environmental management and disaster resilience;
- Knowledge and skills: scholarships, professional development and civil society leadership training; and
- Peace and security: good governance and leadership; social cohesion; preventing violent extremism (PVE); and mine action.
New Zealand’s development cooperation funding to ASEAN is our largest programme outside of the Pacific region. Our initiatives are delivered on a regional, multi-country and bilateral level for all ASEAN member states that are eligible for official development assistance. Our programmes target disadvantaged and remote regions to promote equitable development between and within the countries.
Learn more about New Zealand's development cooperation with:
Key documents and links
- ASEAN Plan [PDF, 460 KB]
- Timor-Leste Plan [PDF, 468 KB]
- Our IDC activity reporting page includes information and links to our DevData website for detailed information on current IDC activities
- Recent Evaluations and Research
- Humanitarian action