Overview

• Prime Ministers Lawrence Wong and Christopher Luxon signed the upgraded partnership in Auckland on Oct 10, formalising the highest tier of bilateral ties.
• The Agreement on Trade in Essential Supplies commits both governments to avoid export restrictions on specified goods during crises, keeping food, fuels and medicines moving.
• Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry described the essential-supplies pact as the country’s first legally binding bilateral agreement focused on supply-chain resilience.
• The decade-long plan targets stronger investment and capital-markets links, positioning Singapore as a springboard for New Zealand firms into Southeast Asia.
• Security cooperation will grow through work on unmanned technologies and follows the RSAF’s inaugural UAV training in New Zealand, alongside joint capacity-building for Pacific countries and efforts to elevate ASEAN–New Zealand relations.