The Right Honourable John Key, Prime Minister of New Zealand, and his spouse, Mrs. Bronagh Key, paid an Official Visit to Thailand as guests of the Royal Thai Government from 17 to 20 November 2013, along with Minister of Primary Industries and accompanying business leaders from 22 companies in various key sectors, namely food and beverages, ICT & logistics, manufacturing and infrastructure.

During the visit, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and Prime Minister  Key had a fruitful plenary meeting to exchange views and further enhance cooperation, building on their last discussion during Prime Minister Yingluck’s visit to New Zealand in March this year. The Prime Ministers discussed issues of trade and investment, education, tourism, science technology and innovation (STI) and Trilateral Cooperation. They also witnessed the signing ceremony for the Letter of Intent on Enhancing Partnership through Cooperation in Tourism, the Letter of Intent between the Office of the Civil Service Commission and Universities in New Zealand, and the Memorandum of Understanding between Thailand Professional Qualification Institute (public organization) and Auckland University of Technology.

Prime Minister Key also delivered a statement at the opening ceremony of the Connect Asia-Pacific Summit 2013 in Bangkok, hosted by the Royal Thai Government. In addition, he attended the Thailand-New Zealand Business Networking Luncheon and witnessed the signing ceremony for three business deals between New Zealand and Thai companies—the Beca Group and Green Spot Co. Ltd., Orion Health and Bumrungrad Hospital, and Taura Natural Ingredients and Joe-Ry Family. He welcomed the establishment of new offices in Thailand of two New Zealand companies, Mainfreight International and Gallagher. The Prime Minister of New Zealand also paid a site visit to Bumrungrad Hospital and Wat Pho, and attended the New Zealand-Thailand Educational Exhibition at the Thailand Creative and Design Centre.

This is the first official visit by Prime Minister of New Zealand to Thailand in the last 8 years. This year marks 57th anniversary of Thailand-New Zealand diplomatic relations.

In 2012, the trade volume between the two countries reached 1.630 billion USD (about 50 billion Baht) with Thailand enjoying a trade surplus of 423 million USD (about 13 billion Baht). Each year, approximately 100,000 New Zealand tourists visit Thailand each year, while 17,000 Thais travel to New Zealand. At present, there are about 3,100 Thai students studying in New Zealand.