Speeches, Statements & International Documents

ASEAN NEW ZEALAND GALA LUNCH REMARKS – 28 OCT 2025

Selamat tengah hari,

Good afternoon, Leaders, Your Majesty, Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

I’d like to first acknowledge Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia for your hosting and your leadership as ASEAN Chair.

I also wish to acknowledge Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. Viet Nam has played a vital and constructive role over the last year as New Zealand’s ASEAN country coordinator.

To all ASEAN Leaders and representatives, thank you for joining us to celebrate this major milestone: 50 Years of ASEAN–New Zealand Dialogue Relations.

Like many New Zealanders, I deeply appreciate the importance of ASEAN to my own country and to the security and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific.

Southeast Asia is a vibrant, dynamic region and often it is ASEAN that acts as a connector of our people and economies.

In March 2024, I was four months into my current role when Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese invited me to my first ASEAN leaders’ meeting in Melbourne. Gidday Anthony, thank you for that invitation.

It’s fair to say I was still the new kid on the block. At the time, I told many of you that my government was determined to lift the energy and urgency we bring to our relationships in Southeast Asia. We had only just met then, so I would have forgiven any of you for being sceptical.

18 months later and after more than 40 visits to the region by myself and my Ministers, it should be obvious that I was deeply serious. And I welcome that many of you have come to visit us, including recently: Prime Minister Wong from Singapore, Deputy Prime Minister Zahid from Malaysia and Dr Kao Kim Hourn, Secretary-General of ASEAN.

It has been one of the great honours of being New Zealand’s Prime Minister to have met many of you now multiple times and to have formed close relationships that truly serve the interests of our countries and peoples.

New Zealand’s formal relationship with ASEAN began fifty years ago when we became a dialogue partner. Since then, our relationship has grown from strength to strength. We have deep connections between communities in education and culture, in business and between our defence establishments. The pillars of our relations: peace, prosperity, planet and people speak to its breadth and importance.

ASEAN and New Zealand now enjoy people-to-people links in almost every facet of life. Our trade and economic growth is an indicator of that change. We trade in three days now what we did in all of 1975.

The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership we established in our Summit less than an hour ago sets a direction for our future. We will be setting high expectations and seeking to take our relationship to new heights, including through biennial ASEAN–New Zealand Summits, closer collaboration across emerging sectors, and continued support for ASEAN-led mechanisms.

Thank you for joining us today to celebrate this milestone. In the spirit of manaakitanga – a Māori term for hospitality and mutual respect – and as Comprehensive Strategic Partners, we invite you to enjoy the New Zealand cuisine and performances that we have in store for you this afternoon.