AUCKLAND – Singapore and New Zealand have agreed to upgrade their bilateral relationship and have laid out a road map to cooperate more closely in wide-ranging areas such as trade, security, innovation and supply chain resilience.
The upgrading of links to a comprehensive strategic partnership (CSP) on Oct 10 came as the countries marked 60 years of diplomatic ties and a quarter-century since they signed a free trade agreement (FTA).
That FTA, Singapore’s first, paved the way for even more ambitious ventures between the two island nations, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Oct 10. These included the Pacific-4 (P4) agreement, which grew into the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, a free trade agreement between 12 countries.
Noting that the two countries had completed more than 40 initiatives since ties were last upgraded in 2019, PM Wong said the CSP will see Singapore and New Zealand pursue even more ambitious and innovative projects together.
This includes establishing an annual leaders’ meeting to guide the nations’ cooperation, deepening investment and capital markets collaboration and forging a strategic partnership to bolster food security, he said at a joint press conference with New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.
The press conference at Government House in Auckland followed the signing of a joint vision statement by both leaders that sets out the direction of cooperation for the next decade across 72 initiatives.
A key aspect of the CSP is to advance shared strategic priorities, including supporting the wider region by jointly delivering capacity-building programmes to Pacific countries, PM Wong said.
The countries are also discussing proposals for a new multi-country green economy partnership, drawing on their experience working together on the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement, or Depa, founded by Singapore, New Zealand and Chile in 2020.
South Korea joined Depa in 2024, while Canada, China, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Peru, Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates have applied to join, according to the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
By integrating trade and climate action, the green deal under consideration aims to have growth and sustainability reinforce each other, PM Wong said.
Under the CSP, Singapore and New Zealand also agreed to a deal on trade in essential supplies, which will legally bind the two countries to actions that minimise the impact of supply chain disruptions, ensuring that goods such as food, fuels and medicines continue to flow even during crises.
Mr Luxon said the agreement is a great example of how the two countries have the same instincts and intentions in finding mutually beneficial outcomes, given that Singapore imports most of its food while New Zealand imports a large amount of its fuel and pharmaceuticals.
“It speaks to the huge amount of trust that we have between our two countries – this is a frictionless arrangement and relationship,” he said.
PM Wong said this first-of-its-kind agreement can also serve as a pathfinder for other trade-dependent economies.
On the defence front, the two countries are also exploring new areas of cooperation, such as unmanned technologies.
In May, the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) expanded its training presence in New Zealand by conducting its inaugural unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) training at the Tekapo Military Training Area.
The training focused on integrating the Orbiter 4 close-range UAV into the RSAF’s fleet to enhance air intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.
“Singapore and New Zealand may be small in size, but we have shown time and again that the power of our partnership far outweighs our scale,” PM Wong said.
Both leaders emphasised that while the international order is changing, small countries do have agency to shape rules and norms, and that both Singapore and New Zealand believe that their partnership can model the standards they want to see affirmed in the world.
“Because we are two small and open economies, we are always looking at pushing the frontiers, always looking at setting more innovative, high standards for ourselves,” said PM Wong, citing the P4, Depa, green economy partnership and essential supplies deals.
“And we hope that these new standards, in time to come, will be adopted by Asean and perhaps by other groupings as well.”
PM Wong and Mr Luxon having a delegation meeting in New Zealand on Oct 10.
The two countries also identified upgrading Asean-New Zealand ties to that of a CSP as a shared strategic priority that they will work towards.
Asean currently has such CSP agreements with Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and the US, which are some of the dialogue partners of the regional bloc.
PM Wong said Asean and New Zealand’s links have been growing, and that Singapore can serve as a springboard for Kiwi companies to engage the regional grouping’s diverse markets.
When Singapore takes on the rotating chairmanship of Asean in 2027, New Zealand will be the chair of the Pacific Island Forum, and there will be another opportunity to engage not just bilaterally, but through these groupings to bring both regions closer together, he added.
Agreeing, Mr Luxon noted that Singapore is New Zealand’s largest trading partner in South-east Asia, and added that the Republic is also where most of its companies have based their regional head offices.
“It’s a country that we’ve got 200,000 people moving between our two countries, and there’s the most familiarity with as well,” he said. “So there’s a lot more that we can do together.”
At a lunch he hosted for the Singapore delegation, Mr Luxon also noted that under the new CSP, New Zealand will have its largest bilateral science investment with the Republic, which he called an “innovation powerhouse”.
The two countries will link up researchers and companies in fields such as quantum, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, future foods and advanced manufacturing, and measure their success by the number of talent exchanges, new ventures and commercialised projects.
In his toast speech, PM Wong said that beyond agreements and initiatives, what sustains the two countries’ friendship is the bonds between their peoples.
Earlier on Oct 10, he laid a wreath at the Auckland War Memorial Museum and met veteran servicemen who reminisced about their time stationed in barracks in Nee Soon and Sembawang. New Zealand troops were the last of the Commonwealth forces to leave Singapore in 1989.
“Their stories are a reminder of how far back our ties go, and I hope many more New Zealanders will have the chance to visit and discover Singapore for themselves,” he said.
PM Wong is in Auckland as part of a six-day visit to Australia and New Zealand – his first official visit as head of government to both countries.
On Oct 11, he will attend a reception for overseas Singaporeans in Auckland to celebrate Singapore’s 60th year of independence.
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