KUALA LUMPUR: Asean and New Zealand share the vision to shape the regional and global order and have pledged to work closely together to realise that goal.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon reaffirmed his country’s commitment to strengthening ties with Asean, marking 50 years of partnership between both sides at the Asean–New Zealand Commemorative Summit today.
Delivering his opening remarks, Luxon said New Zealand’s prosperity, security and future growth were closely intertwined with that of Asean member states.
“We share a region, and we all share a role in shaping its future,” he said, adding that the relationship had grown from modest beginnings into one anchored in growth and development.
Luxon pointed to two comprehensive regional free trade agreements, which are the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Asean-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA), as the foundation of their economic cooperation.
“We now have two comprehensive regional free trade agreements, the RCEP and the AANZFTA and two-way trade of $30 billion every year.
“We are also signing a new Regional Air Services Agreement today. Put another way, we trade in three days now what we did in all of 1975 with Asean countries,” he said.
He said the Asean–New Zealand relationship extended across multiple sectors, including education, agriculture, renewable energy and the digital economy.
Luxon also underscored New Zealand’s values of peace, partnership and respect, and praised Asean’s convening power in bringing together diverse voices on regional and global issues.
Under their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, Luxon said both sides would hold biennial leaders’ summits to exchange ideas and advance cooperation.
“In a world troubled by volatility, in a region where old certainties are no longer guaranteed, Asean and New Zealand still hold strong in our belief in the same things which are the importance of words rather than weapons, a rules-based order where size does not determine rights, a world where trade stays open and an Indo-Pacific region in which Asean helps anchor a stable and prosperous regional architecture based on international law.
“I am excited about the future direction of our relationship,” he said.
Luxon also welcomed Timor-Leste’s participation as a full member of Asean.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
