Saeed Al Hajeri reaffirms UAE's commitment to strengthening partnership with New Zealand

Auckland: Saeed Al Hajeri, Minister of State, has reaffirmed the UAE's commitment to deepening its partnership with New Zealand during a working visit from June 10 to 12, 2026. During the visit, Al Hajeri held a series of bilateral meetings with Winston Peters, Minister of Foreign Affairs; Todd McClay, Minister for Trade and Investment; His Excellency Mark Mitchell, Minister of Police; and His Excellency Simon Watts, Minister of Climate Change. The meetings underscored the strength and growing momentum of bilateral relations between the two countries. Discussions focused on enhancing cooperation across areas of mutual interest, particularly in priority sectors including the economy, investment, security, climate change, environmental sustainability, health, people-to-people exchanges, the film industry, and the equine sector. For their part, the New Zealand officials commended the positive development of bilateral relations and expressed confidence that the visit and accompanying meetings would further strengthen cooperation across various fields of mutual interest. Al Hajeri also met Leon Grice, Chair of Antarctica New Zealand, during which both sides discussed cooperation in Antarctic scientific research. On the sidelines of the visit, a UAE-New Zealand Business Roundtable and Networking Event was held, organized by the New Zealand-Middle East Business Council and the Auckland Chamber of Commerce. The event brought together a distinguished group of UAE and New Zealand companies and provided a platform for dialogue between public and private sector representatives, highlighting trade and investment opportunities and exploring new avenues for economic partnership between the two countries. During the event, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish the UAE-New Zealand Business Council was signed by Rashed Al Qemzi, Ambassador of the UAE to New Zealand, on behalf of the Federation of UAE Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FCCI), and Jude Hadfield, Executive Director and Chair of the New Zealand-Middle East Business Council (NZMEBC). The Council aims to strengthen engagement between the business communities of both countries, support trade and investment flows, and identify new opportunities for cooperation across priority sectors. The visit also included the participation of the UAE delegation in Fieldays 2026, New Zealand's largest agricultural event and one of the world's leading platforms for agricultural innovation and food security. The delegation explored emerging technologies and solutions in sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, and food security, while discussing opportunities for cooperation and knowledge exchange with participating New Zealand entities. The UAE delegation visited Cambridge Stud and Breckon Farms, where they held discussions to explore tangible areas of cooperation in the equine industry. The meetings highlighted opportunities for collaboration in breeding, training, and knowledge exchange, while strengthening ties between stakeholders in both countries.