NZ business leaders to join PM Christopher Luxon in Southeast Asia

New Zealand Prime Minister Rt Hon Christopher Luxon has announced he will travel to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines next week as part of the Government's commitment to strengthening New Zealand's international engagement with Southeast Asia. The Prime Minister will be accompanied by a delegation of senior New Zealand business leaders on the mission, which will take place from 14-20 April.

On making the announcement, the Prime Minister spoke of the importance of the region to New Zealand's own security and prosperity, and his strong desire to build new connections and renew relationships with partners and customers in these key markets.

Southeast Asia is one of New Zealand's most significant export markets. Collectively, it is the world's fifth largest economy, and enjoys some of the fastest economic growth rates in the world. It is New Zealand's third largest export destination, worth more than $9.1 billion in 2023.

New Zealand Trade and Enterprise Regional Director for Southeast and East Asia, Rachael Kerr, said: "We are delighted the Prime Minister has chosen this region to lead his first business delegation of 2024. All three markets represent opportunities for New Zealand exporters and are critical to the Government's ambition to diversify our trade and accelerate New Zealand's economic growth. "

The business delegation represents a broad and diverse cross section of New Zealand's top companies engaged in Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines as well as those looking to enter these markets.

The business delegation includes:

In addition to the business delegation, the Prime Minister will be accompanied by Simon Watts, the Minister of Climate Change and Revenue and Paulo Garcia, New Zealand's first Filipino Member of Parliament.