New Zealand and Mexico

New Zealand and Mexico enjoy a warm and positive relationship across a wide range of political, social, economic, and cultural issues and activities. 2008 marked the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations, and the 25th anniversary of the opening of the New Zealand Embassy in Mexico City.

Relations between New Zealand and Mexico have gone from strength to strength in the last 35 years. The importance of Latin America led the New Zealand Government to launch its Latin America Strategy in 2000. Mexico is a priority partner in the Strategy.

Over the past 25 years, New Zealand and Mexico have signed a series of arrangements on science and technology, commercial and education cooperation, as well as a treaty to avoid the double imposition of tax. The most recent arrangement established a bilateral Working Holiday Scheme – Mexico’s first - under which 200 young Mexicans and 200 young New Zealanders are able to visit, study and work in the other country for up to a year.

Ministerial and parliamentary visits have enhanced our bilateral links and strengthened the relationship between the two governments. Prime Minister Helen Clark has visited Mexico twice in an official capacity, and President Felipe Calderón made the first bilateral visit by a Mexican President to New Zealand in September 2007. The visits by the heads of government have been underpinned by high-level ministerial visits, including the New Zealand Ministers of Trade, Defence, and Disarmament, and of Agriculture in 2007. And there has been active contact between our legislatures, most recently with a bilateral visit to New Zealand by a Mexican congressional delegation, following the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum in Auckland in January 2008.

At the state level, the Governor of Jalisco, Mr Emilio González Márquez, visited New Zealand in October 2008 with a large public /private delegation to explore collaborative opportunities.

New Zealand and Mexico work together in many international fora, including APEC, the OECD, the WTO and the UN. We have cooperated closely on disarmament issues for many years. We are both members of the New Agenda group dedicated to making progress on nuclear disarmament issues, and belong to regional Nuclear Weapon Free Zone treaties.

For further information on the New Zealand - Mexico bilateral relationship, please refer to the Mexico country paper on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade website.