For New Zealand, the six Gulf countries have also become increasingly essential \u2013 especially in trade, but also in wider strategic terms, as shown in just-completed PhD research by this author.<\/p>\n
The six states that make up the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) \u2013 Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)<\/a> \u2013 are now collectively New Zealand\u2019s sixth-biggest export market. In the year ending in June 2025, exports to the GCC crossed the $3 billion mark for the first time, up from just $1.75b in 2021. The Gulf states have operated as a customs union since 2003.<\/p>\n Food security is a major concern in the Gulf states, where a harsh desert climate means most food products must be imported to feed a growing population that now exceeds 60 million people. With the Gulf states having an appetite for quality and the wealth to pay for it, New Zealand\u2019s dairy, meat and fruit products are highly sought-after, typically commanding premium prices in supermarkets in Dubai, Doha, Riyadh and other capitals across the region. Uncertainty created by this year\u2019s US tariffs<\/a> has only made the Gulf market more essential for New Zealand producers.<\/p>\n A new Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) trade deal with the UAE, which came into force in August, is likely to see exports rise even further. Meanwhile, the implementation of a wider free trade agreement (FTA) with the broader GCC should provide an additional boost to bilateral trade. Negotiations on the GCC FTA were concluded at a ceremony held in Qatar in late 2024.<\/p>\n More broadly, the study found that New Zealand\u2019s relations with the Gulf states have been quietly deepening across multiple sectors over the course of a generation.<\/p>\n Most visibly, ministerial visits in both directions have grown in frequency and intensity. The research identified more than 60 visits made by New Zealand ministers to the GCC since then Foreign Minister Phil Goff travelled to the region in January 2001, a trip that included the first-ever visit to the UAE by a New Zealand Foreign Minister.<\/p>\n A generation on, New Zealand Trade Minister Todd McClay made at least five visits to the Gulf in 2024 alone, many of which were focused on securing the two new trade agreements. For his part, Foreign Minister Winston Peters also called on Saudi Arabia and the UAE in early 2025, while Prime Minister Christopher Luxon went to Abu Dhabi in January.<\/p>\n In the other direction, the study uncovered more than 30 high-level visits to New Zealand by high-level Gulf officials in the 21st century. Recent prominent examples include the 2024 visits by the Qatari Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, and the UAE\u2019s Minister of State for Foreign Trade Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi.<\/p>\n The efforts of individuals in championing relations between New Zealand and the Gulf have been considerable. Today, the achievements of Todd McClay stand out. But McClay\u2019s endeavours built on the initial work of Labour\u2019s Phil Goff, as well as later contributions such as those made by National Party\u2019s Murray McCully.<\/p>\n McCully, one of nearly 50 key figures across both New Zealand and the Gulf who were interviewed for the study, served as New Zealand\u2019s Foreign Minister from 2008-17. He recalled developing a close friendship with UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who made repeated visits to New Zealand, including for the Rugby World Cup in 2011.<\/p>\n Despite some success, McCully says New Zealand\u2019s ties with the Gulf<\/a> remain \u201cundercooked\u201d. Indeed, the study found many areas of untapped potential. For example, GCC investment levels in New Zealand are meagre, paling in comparison with the billions of dollars invested by Singapore. The Gulf states are home to some of the world\u2019s biggest sovereign wealth funds, which are keen to invest in infrastructure projects.<\/p>\n Still, McCully played a key role in expanding New Zealand\u2019s diplomatic footprint in the Gulf, opening a mission in Abu Dhabi in 2011 that has helped to keep the bilateral fires burning with the UAE. The post complemented an existing embassy in Saudi Arabia that New Zealand opened in the mid-1980s.<\/p>\n In the other direction, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE all opened embassies in Wellington in the mid-2010s. This year marks both the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the UAE\u2019s embassy in New Zealand and the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Abu Dhabi. Meanwhile, the 50th anniversary of formal diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia is coming up in 2027.<\/p>\n Military diplomacy has also increasingly been a driver of bilateral relations between New Zealand and the Gulf. Since the 9\/11 attacks, military bases in the Gulf states \u2013 particularly the UAE, but also Bahrain and at times Qatar \u2013 have often functioned as hubs for New Zealand troops serving on multilateral deployments in the wider region.<\/p>\n The downside to the growing defence links is that they have also reflected deteriorating security in the wider Middle East that has been at odds with New Zealand\u2019s interest in growing trade and business ties with the Gulf. Negative stereotypes and a reluctance to differentiate between countries in the region do not help. In addition to powerful moral arguments, New Zealand could easily justify taking a more hands-on approach to Middle East peace efforts on business grounds.<\/p>\n Another takeaway from the study is the need for greater institutionalisation of relations<\/a>. Despite their general bipartisan nature, New Zealand\u2019s relations with the Gulf have waxed and waned over the years, in part because they have been overly reliant on the commendable efforts of a small number of individuals. More consistency is probably needed if relations are to deepen further.<\/p>\n To this end, New Zealand could work on expanding its collective knowledge and understanding of the wider region. New Zealand lacks an academic centre focused on the Middle East, while Arabic is the only one of the six official UN languages not to be taught by a New Zealand university. Wellington\u2019s efforts in institutionalising ties with Asia since the 1980s, which included the establishment of the Asia New Zealand Foundation in 1994, could serve as a useful model.<\/p>\n Donald Trump\u2019s hosting of Mohammed bin Salman at the White House this week is another sign of the times.<\/p>\n For Washington, the Gulf is only becoming more vital.<\/p>\n But as the Gulf states increasingly look east as well as west, Wellington is also finding the Gulf to be a crucial partner.<\/p>\n Sign up to Herald Premium Editor\u2019s Picks<\/a>, delivered straight to your inbox every Friday. Editor-in-Chief Murray Kirkness picks the week\u2019s best features, interviews and investigations. Sign up for Herald Premium here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Initially, Biden\u2019s renewed interest in the Gulf region \u2013 despite his early ambitions to recentre US foreign policy…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":141735,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[806,10808,3278,2082,63027,30699,17935,117,111,43,139,69,4940,38109,656,223,14450,2988,14605,2963],"class_list":{"0":"post-141734","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-zealand","8":"tag-as","9":"tag-crown","10":"tag-facts","11":"tag-for","12":"tag-geoffrey","13":"tag-gulf","14":"tag-miller","15":"tag-new","16":"tag-new-zealand","17":"tag-news","18":"tag-newzealand","19":"tag-nz","20":"tag-prince","21":"tag-saudi","22":"tag-strategy","23":"tag-the","24":"tag-visits","25":"tag-washington","26":"tag-whats","27":"tag-zealands"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141734"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141734\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}New Zealand Trade Minister Todd McClay made at least five visits to the Gulf in 2024 alone. Photo \/ Maryana Garcia<\/p>\n
Murray McCully says New Zealand\u2019s ties with the Gulf remain \u201cundercooked\u201d. Photo \/ Mark Mitchell<\/p>\n