On 19 April 2024, Mr. Bolbongse Vangphaen, Acting Director-General of the Department of ASEAN Affairs, participated in the 31st ASEAN-New Zealand Dialogue in Wellington, New Zealand. The Meeting was co-chaired by New Zealand and Brunei Darussalam, the Country Coordinator for ASEAN-New Zealand Dialogue Relations. Timor-Leste also attended as observer.

The Meeting discussed how to further strengthen cooperation under the ASEAN-New Zealand Strategic Partnership in various dimensions, focusing on promotion of peace and security, trade and investment, people-to-people relations, and environment protection. In this connection, New Zealand proposed to convene ASEAN-New Zealand Commemorative Summit on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of ASEAN-New Zealand Dialogue Relations in 2025 in Malaysia, with the establishment of the ASEAN-New Zealand Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) as one of the key deliverables.

Acting Director-General Vangphaen led the discussion on green agenda, innovation, and sustainable development cooperation, calling for enhanced cooperation on renewable energy, smart agriculture, green finance, and development of carbon credit mechanisms in the region. He also encouraged New Zealand to deepen collaboration with relevant ASEAN centres, especially the ASEAN Centre for Sustainable Development Studies and Dialogue (ACSDSD) in Bangkok and initiate flagship cooperation projects on green innovation which New Zealand has expertise in.

During the exchange of views on regional and international issues, Thailand updated the Meeting on the handover ceremony of humanitarian assistance for the people of Myanmar as part of effort to scale up assistance for affected population along the Thai-Myanmar border on 25 March 2024. Thailand also expressed alarm over the escalation of conflicts in Myanmar and support for the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Statement on the Escalation of Conflicts in Myanmar issued on 18 April 2024.

The ASEAN-New Zealand Dialogue is the annual senior officials’ meeting to review and discuss ways to drive forward the ASEAN-New Zealand Strategic Partnership for concrete results. New Zealand was the second country to establish Dialogue Relations with ASEAN, in 1975. Dialogue Relations were later elevated to a Strategic Partnership in 2015 on the occasion of the 40th Anniversary of ASEAN-New Zealand Dialogue Relations.