ASEAN Secretary-General Dr. Kao Kim Hourn concluded a four-day working visit to New Zealand on May 14, engaging with senior government officials, business leaders, students, and academics to strengthen bilateral ties across peace, prosperity, people, and planet initiatives.
During the visit to Wellington and Auckland, Dr. Kao met with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters, and other key cabinet members including the ministers for defence, education, Pacific peoples, and climate change.
Discussions focused on reinforcing ASEAN Centrality in the Indo-Pacific, strengthening the East Asia Summit, and advancing cooperation under the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific framework.
The visit comes as ASEAN and New Zealand mark 50 years of dialogue relations in 2025.
Both sides reiterated their commitment to upholding a rules-based regional order and enhancing practical cooperation, with plans to elevate their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership later this year.
Dr. Kao also held meetings with the ASEAN-New Zealand Business Council, student groups, think tanks, and the media to promote greater people-to-people ties and business collaboration.
Both sides welcomed the full implementation of the 2021–2025 ASEAN–New Zealand Plan of Action and will begin work on a new 2026–2030 action plan aimed at promoting peace, stability, and economic growth in the region.
The ASEAN–New Zealand Commemorative Leaders’ Summit is scheduled to take place in Kuala Lumpur in October 2025.
Business News Asia
