Ministry of Foreign Affairs Singapore

Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong is on an Official Visit to New Zealand from 9 to 11 October 2025. This is his introductory go to to New Zealand as Prime Minister.

 

On 9 October 2025, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon hosted Prime Minister Wong to a dinner, the place they exchanged views on regional and worldwide developments, together with the necessity to work collectively and uphold the rules-based worldwide order. The following day, Prime Minister Wong had a delegation assembly with Prime Minister Luxon. The Prime Ministers reaffirmed the wonderful bilateral relations and commemorated 60 years of robust diplomatic relations between Singapore and New Zealand. They welcomed the great progress in bilateral cooperation for the reason that launch of the Enhanced Partnership in 2019.

 

Following the assembly, the 2 Prime Ministers held a Joint Press Conference to announce the elevation of bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP). The CSP units the imaginative and prescient and path for the subsequent section of our bilateral relations over the subsequent decade, setting out a complete of 72 initiatives spanning throughout six pillars of cooperation in: (a) Trade and Economics; (b) Defence, Security and Safety; (c) Science, Technology, and Innovation; (d) People-to-People; (e) Climate Change and Green Economy; and (f) Supply Chains and Connectivity. More broadly, the CSP lays out alternatives for joint collaboration in Southeast Asia and cooperation to strengthen the multilateral buying and selling system.

 

Amidst the complexities of right this moment’s worldwide panorama, the CSP serves as the muse for the continued cooperation of the 2 nations towards stability and prosperity, together with via deeper dialogue on the challenges going through small states and a shared dedication to advance the pursuits of our peoples, our area, and the worldwide group. The Joint Vision Statement of the CSP is at Annex.

 

Later right this moment, Prime Minister Wong will go to Rocket Lab — New Zealand’s pioneering house firm and an emblem of its cutting-edge capabilities in aerospace and satellite tv for pc know-how. Prime Minister Wong can even meet former Prime Minister John Key and attend a reception for Overseas Singaporeans based mostly in New Zealand earlier than departing for Singapore.

 

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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

SINGAPORE

10 OCTOBER 2025

 

Annex

 

Joint Vision Statement by the

Prime Ministers of Singapore and

New Zealand on a Comprehensive

Strategic Partnership

 

***

 

1.     As we mark 60 years of diplomatic relations, New Zealand and Singapore have a good time the energy and depth of our enduring partnership. Built on belief, shared strategic pursuits, and a dedication to cooperation, we glance forward with optimism as strategic companions and shut, trusted associates.

 

2.     Grounded in a shared strategic outlook and a inventive and pragmatic method to world challenges, our collaboration has delivered tangible advantages to our individuals, our economies, and our engagement in regional and worldwide establishments. Our partnership continues to be guided by innovation and a dedication to addressing rising alternatives and challenges.

 

3.     As island nations within the Indo-Pacific, we’re dedicated to a safe and affluent area, underpinned by worldwide norms and guidelines that make sure the free motion of products and other people. We stay robust advocates for regionalism and multilateralism as important pathways to stability and prosperity, recognising that our futures are deeply linked to that of our wider area.

 

4.     Our partnership has lengthy been anchored in strong defence and safety cooperation, in addition to our management in shaping progressive, pathfinder commerce agreements. Since the launch of the New Zealand-Singapore Enhanced Partnership (EP) in 2019, our collaboration has expanded into new areas akin to provide chains, the inexperienced economic system, and science and know-how – strengthened by our enduring people-to-people ties.

 

5.     In the spirit of this deep and evolving partnership, and on the event of the 60^th anniversary of diplomatic relations, New Zealand and Singapore have collectively determined to raise our bilateral relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP). This milestone features a joint Plan of Action, spanning 10 years, with initiatives throughout six key pillars. As some initiatives might take longer to understand, we envision the Plan of Action will stay dynamic, adapting to evolving world developments and guaranteeing our partnership stays agile, resilient, and future-ready.

 

6.     In launching this CSP, we recognise the complexities of the geostrategic and geoeconomic atmosphere, the place the rules-based worldwide order faces growing stress. This framework serves as the muse for our continued stability and prosperity. We will enhance dialogue on the challenges going through small nations, and reaffirm our dedication to shaping a future that advances the pursuits of our individuals, our area, and the worldwide group.

 

Advancing Our Partnership

 

7.     The New Zealand-Singapore CSP builds on current frameworks whereas driving new and bold areas of cooperation:

 

7.1.  Institutionalising Strategic Engagement: The CSP introduces new mechanisms for strategic dialogue between political leaders with Annual Leaders’ Meetings and public sector company leaders at annual Centre of Government exchanges. A Strategic Economic Dialogue will facilitate discussions on bilateral, regional, and worldwide financial points. These new engagements will complement current high-level dialogues, together with the Defence Ministers’ and Senior Officials’ Meetings, and the annual Secretary-level New Zealand-Singapore Strategic Dialogue (2+2: Foreign Affairs and Defence).

 

7.2.  Strengthening Economic, Business and Policy Ties: The New Zealand-Singapore Leadership Forum in 2026 will deliver collectively political, enterprise, and different leaders to discover and progress key initiatives. Additionally, each nations will proceed to help monitor I and monitor II ties between New Zealand and Singapore-based consultants, and organise a separate Track 1.5 Dialogue.

 

7.3.  Expanding Pacific Cooperation: Recognising Singapore’s position as a Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Dialogue Partner and New Zealand’s position as a founding PIF member, we decide to supporting Pacific priorities and establishments, together with the PIF because the area’s pre-eminent regional physique. We will proceed to work via current regional dialogue structure and pursue joint growth initiatives and cooperation consistent with the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent.

 

7.4.  Strengthening ASEAN Collaboration: This yr, New Zealand celebrates 50 years of dialogue relations with ASEAN and appears ahead to the convening of the ASEAN-New Zealand Commemorative Leaders’ Summit and related occasions in October 2025. New Zealand’s ambition to determine a CSP with ASEAN is an indication of its enduring and deep dedication to the ASEAN regional structure, and help for ASEAN centrality and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific. Under the bilateral CSP, New Zealand and Singapore will proceed to discover alternatives for joint collaboration throughout ASEAN Member States together with how we are able to collectively help Timor-Leste because it accedes to full membership. 

 

7.5.  Enhancing Multilateral Cooperation: We have an extended historical past of collaboration in regional and multilateral settings, together with within the United Nations, the World Trade Organisation, the Asia Pacific Economic Community (APEC), the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM)-Plus, and Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA). Under the CSP, we’ll discover deeper cooperation in help of the rules-based worldwide system via enhanced multilateral dialogue centered on areas of shared curiosity, together with Small Island Developing States (SIDS), oceans, local weather change, commerce, house, disarmament, and rising know-how points.

 

Deepening Our Cooperation

 

8.     The New Zealand-Singapore CSP will strengthen collaboration underneath six pillars:

 

·      Trade and Economics;

·      Defence, Security, and Safety;

·      Science, Technology, and Innovation;

·      People-to-People;

·      Climate Change and Green Economy; and

·      Supply Chains and Connectivity.

9.     Trade and Economics: Trade is the muse of our relationship — outdoors of ASEAN, we share extra free commerce agreements collectively than with another companion. This yr marks the 25^th anniversary of the Agreement between New Zealand and Singapore Closer Economic Partnership (CEP) — a trailblazer for subsequent regional and plurilateral agreements. The Agreement on Trade in Essential Supplies (AOTES), the primary of its variety, will kind a part of the CEP.

10.   Under the CSP, we’ll strengthen implementation of the ASEAN Australia New Zealand FTA (AANZFTA), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA), the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership (P4).

11.  To assist drive the subsequent section of our commerce and financial relationship, we’ll work collectively to develop a plurilateral Green Economy Partnership Agreement (GEPA), proceed ongoing cooperation underneath DEPA, progress joint initiatives with like-minded companions such because the Future of Investment and Trade Partnership (FIT Partnership) in addition to CPTPP dialogues with ASEAN and the European Union (EU). These efforts will affirm the rules-based buying and selling system, set the tempo for progressive commerce guidelines and agreements, and ship extra alternatives for our exporters and enterprise communities. We will encourage two-way funding, broaden capital markets collaboration, and discover novel concepts such because the idea of a single financial market.

12.  Defence, Security, and Safety: Our defence partnership is in depth and long-standing – spanning many areas. In an period of rising geostrategic tensions and world uncertainty, enhancing our current bilateral defence cooperation and exploring new initiatives will bolster our shared contributions to regional safety, together with via the FPDA and ADMM-Plus. We can even broaden our nationwide safety cooperation, together with on cyber safety and rising applied sciences, and enhance engagement between the related authorities on border safety, combatting transnational organised crime, and catastrophe and emergency administration.

13.  Science, Technology, and Innovation: New Zealand and Singapore are each future-focused centres of analysis and innovation, and new cooperation underneath the CSP will see us construct a extra strategic science, know-how, and innovation partnership to satisfy the wants of a altering world. We will work to leverage respective experience to allow cutting-edge collaboration in rising applied sciences. Greater connectivity between our science and innovation ecosystems might be facilitated via numerous modalities akin to joint analysis programmes, institute-to-institute partnerships, workforce exchanges and mobility schemes, and leveraging robust relationship networks.

 

14.  People-to-people hyperlinks: At the center of our bilateral relationship are people-to-people ties. There is in depth cooperation underneath this pillar throughout the humanities and tradition, schooling, and public sectors. These areas will proceed to be a spotlight underneath the CSP, alongside new cooperation between our Judiciaries. We can even discover data change on digital id initiatives.

 

15.  Climate Change and Green Economy: As small, superior, progressive, and open economies, New Zealand and Singapore are well-placed to cooperate to search out options that help our inexperienced goals and drive financial progress. Under the CSP, we’ll work collectively to realize our respective transitions to internet zero and reveal regional management, akin to cooperation on carbon markets, sustainable finance and funding, useful resource effectivity, nature restoration, sustainable agriculture, low and 0 emissions fuels and decarbonising provide chains. New Zealand and Singapore share the ambition of creating progressive commerce and funding guidelines and agreements to assist spur inexperienced financial progress, and this drives our work collectively to develop the GEPA with likeminded companions.

 

16.  Supply Chains and Connectivity: Securing provide chains and guaranteeing connectivity are existential points for buying and selling nations akin to ours, and for crucial transhipment hubs akin to Singapore. Under the CSP, we’ll construct on our historical past of mutual reliability and strengthen provide chain cooperation together with via the AOTES. We will set up a Strategic Food Partnership to deepen agri-food cooperation in commerce, resilience and innovation.

 

 

Implementing the CSP

 

17.  An in depth Plan of Action will information the implementation of the CSP over the subsequent decade. This Plan will stay dynamic and aware of our evolving strategic atmosphere, guaranteeing adaptability to rising challenges. Officials will conduct periodic evaluations to trace progress and uphold the strategic imaginative and prescient of our Partnership.

 

18.  This Joint Vision Statement heralds a brand new chapter in New Zealand-Singapore relations. Rooted in shared belief, innovation, and complementarity, the CSP displays our dedication to shaping a resilient and forward-looking partnership that advantages our nations, our Indo-Pacific dwelling area, and the broader world. The CSP goals to develop higher consciousness amongst New Zealand and Singapore publics in regards to the energy and worth of our bilateral relationship.

 

19.  We reaffirm our resolve to navigate the long run collectively, constructing on six many years of cooperation to chart a daring course for the years forward.

 

Signed in Auckland on the ten^th day of October 2025

 

On behalf of the Government of the Republic of Singapore:

Lawrence Wong

Prime Minister

 

On behalf of the Government of New Zealand:

Christopher Luxon

Prime Minister