JOINT PRESS STATEMENT
between New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Philippine
Secretary of Foreign Affairs
MAKATI 10 June 2024 - On 10 June 2024, the Philippine Secretary for Foreign Affairs Enrique A. Manalo hosted New Zealand’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Right Honourable Winston Peters in Manila.
During their meeting, Minister Peters and Secretary Manalo discussed the enduring friendship between New Zealand and the Philippines, shaped by nearly 60 years of diplomatic relations. They reiterated their mutual desire and discussed steps towards elevating the Philippine-New Zealand relationship to a Comprehensive Partnership by 2026, as agreed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and PrimeMinister Christopher Luxon in Manila in April 2024.
Secretary Manalo and Minister Peters discussed opportunities for growing mutually beneficial two-way trade, investment and defence cooperation, including the negotiation and conclusion of a Status of Visiting Forces Agreement in 2024. They welcomed the signing of the Mutual Logistics Support Arrangement.
They also reflected on the flourishing people-to-people links between the two countries, including the growing Filipino community in New Zealand. Secretary Manalo acknowledged NewZealand’s ongoing development support to the Philippines, including a new package of support to improve health, education, and livelihoods in Mindanao.
Minister Peters and Secretary Manalo exchanged views on the Indo-Pacific region, including the South China Sea. They agreed on the important role maritime security and international law plays in ensuring peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. END
