SINGAPORE – Singapore and New Zealand pledged on May 4 to keep essential goods such as food, fuel and other critical supplies flowing, even in times of crisis, through a legally binding agreement.
Both prime ministers witnessed the signing of the pact and also committed to more cooperation in areas such as defence and security as well as healthcare and food supply.
“We will not shut each other out. Instead, we will work actively to keep trade moving,” said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong at a joint press conference with his New Zealand counterpart Christopher Luxon, who is in Singapore on a three-day official visit.
“This is the first agreement of its kind for both our countries – and also globally. It marks another breakthrough, and it sends a very clear signal: Even under strain, trusted partners will keep faith with one another.”
The Agreement on Trade in Essential Supplies applies to trade in food, fuel, healthcare, chemical and construction products during crises and supply chain disruptions. These are areas where both countries will not impose unnecessary export restrictions.
Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry said this is meant to provide businesses and consumers on both sides with greater confidence and stability during supply chain disruptions.
It also establishes a framework for both countries to facilitate the movement of goods, share information and engage in consultations before or during supply chain disruptions, said the ministry.
PM Wong noted that in difficult times, countries will be tempted to look inwards. In doing so, supply chains break down – the agreement is both countries’ answer to this, he said.
“It’s a commitment that we will do things differently – that we will keep markets open, keep essential goods flowing, and stand by one another, especially when it matters most,” he said.
New Zealand receives about a third of its fuel needs from Singapore refineries, including diesel, which is critical for freight, farming and food production, while New Zealand provides around 14 per cent of Singapore’s food imports, according to New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Dairy is the Pacific country’s top export to Singapore, at about 31.6 per cent of its total exports, alongside other top food exports including fruits and nuts, fats and oils, as well as meat and edible offal.
Both prime ministers welcomed interest from other countries in setting up similar agreements.
PM Wong said: “It is between us, but it’s not exclusive. It’s not meant to be exclusive.”
He likened it to the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership, or P4, an initiative that New Zealand and Singapore pioneered and later brought other countries on to.
“We welcome other countries to join us, and if they are able to meet the same standards, then it will start to expand a network of trusted partners who can provide similar assurances to one another.”
Mr Luxon agreed: “If this is something of value to you and that you can meet the standards and are prepared to… have each other’s backs in the way that we’ve modelled that out, we would welcome that as well.”
The newly signed agreement builds upon the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) inked by both countries in October 2025. The CSP is the framework for both countries to cooperate more closely on a wide range of areas such as trade, security, innovation and supply chain resilience.
Some outcomes promised through the CSP have already taken shape, such as the Singapore-New Zealand Leadership Forum that concluded earlier on May 4. Both prime ministers had urged business leaders from both sides to build new partnerships and seize opportunities in the region.
Singapore and New Zealand share many strategic perspectives, said PM Wong.
“We have long seen the world in similar ways. We believe in openness and cooperation. Over the years, we have built a deep reservoir of trust. And we don’t just speak about principles; we act on them.”
Mr Luxon said this latest move by the countries to buffer each other from supply shocks and disruptions demonstrates how both countries have each other’s backs.
“It takes a longstanding trust and turns it into, really, a commitment to keep essential trade flowing in a crisis, and a commitment to give businesses, governments and the public confidence that trusted supply lines will remain open under huge pressure,” he said.
Two other agreements under the CSP have also made progress.
The health ministries of both countries concluded a memorandum of understanding spanning areas such as primary care, pandemic preparedness and supply chain resilience for healthcare supplies – including medicine, health products and medical devices.
Agri-food trade between the countries will also get a boost from an agreement signed by their trade ministries that streamlines certification for food and primary products.
PM Wong said he had discussed with Mr Luxon how both countries can further cooperate under the CSP.
On defence and security, both countries will continue to support mutual access to training facilities in their respective countries, PM Wong said.
They are also working together in new areas including unmanned technologies.
“These will benefit the professional development of both our armed forces,” he added.
Critical areas such as healthcare and food supply also feature under the CSP. Both sides are strengthening cooperation on this front, noted PM Wong.
The two countries are sharing lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic to be more prepared for future pandemics, he said.
They are also making it easier and more efficient to trade food and primary products, PM Wong added.
Singapore and New Zealand will also continue to invest in people-to-people ties, he said. This is in areas such as education, culture and professional exchanges, including between the judiciary as well as teachers and civil servants.
“These important human connections give our relationship more depth and resilience,” said PM Wong.
He also reiterated both countries’ belief in an open, rules-based international system as well as a commitment to work together on the wider world stage.
“As fellow founding members of the Future of Investment and Trade Partnership, we will push to keep trade open, rules clear and supply chains dependable,” he said of the coalition of 16 small and medium-sized countries that aims to advance open and fair trade practices.
With Singapore assuming the ASEAN chairmanship in 2027 and New Zealand chairing the Pacific Islands Forum, PM Wong said this would be a good opportunity to bring both the ASEAN and Pacific regions closer together and strengthen cooperation across a wider area.
“We may be small countries, at least in terms of population, but we have agency,” said PM Wong.
“And when we work together – with clarity, with purpose, and with trust – we can shape outcomes together, turn challenges into opportunities, and bring benefits to our peoples.”
PM Wong and Mr Luxon witnessing the signing of the Agreement on Trade in Essential Supplies between Minister-in-charge of Energy and Science & Technology Tan See Leng and New Zealand’s Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on May 4.
ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO
In a joint statement issued after both leaders met, Singapore and New Zealand also reaffirmed their positions that the right of transit passage in the Strait of Hormuz is part of customary international law, and called for the unconditional, unrestricted and immediate reopening of the strait.
“The right of transit passage without restrictions or tolls is the bedrock of international trade,” said the two countries.
They noted that the impacts on global supply chains are being felt heavily in the Indo-Pacific and Pacific regions. In particular, this has affected oil, gas and petrochemical products as well as essential goods and critical downstream derivatives such as fertilisers and plastics for packaging.
Responding to a question on how New Zealand and ASEAN could collaborate more, PM Wong noted that ASEAN has a growing consumer market driven by a relatively young population and a rising middle class.
He encouraged New Zealand firms to “think of ASEAN as an entire market where they can integrate their operations and effectively maximise their networks”.
There will be new investment opportunities – such as the ASEAN power grid project – that can benefit from external investors and partners with expertise in areas such as green energy, like New Zealand, said PM Wong.
Singapore is set to assume the ASEAN chairmanship in 2027, coinciding with the grouping’s 60th anniversary.
Asked how deep the relationship between Singapore and New Zealand can go, PM Wong said the sky is the limit.
“It’s only limited by our level of ambition, and if we are ambitious enough, and we continue to look at new ways of collaborating across the six pillars of our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, I think we will continue to break new ground.”
