S'pore, New Zealand sign Agreement on Trade in Essential Supplies, 1st of its kind globally

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong are committed to supply chain resilience, signing the first-of-its-kind Agreement on Trade in Essential Supplies (AOTES) on May 4.

PM Wong's remarks were delivered at a joint press conference during the New Zealand leader's official visit to Singapore.

PM Wong said the agreement, which comes as the conflict in the Middle East disrupts energy markets and supply chains, sends a clear signal: "even under strain, trusted partners will keep faith with one another".

"It means that even in time of crisis or shortages, we will keep essential goods flowing – food, fuel, and other critical supplies. We will not shut each other out."

Deep reservoir of trust

PM Wong said that Singapore and New Zealand share many strategic perspectives and are "small, open and trade-dependent" countries that feel these energy and supply chain shocks more directly.

"In difficult times, every country will be tempted to look inward. But when that happens, supply chains break down, and everyone ends up worse off."

PM Wong said that AOTES is a commitment that Singapore and New Zealand will do things differently and stand by one another to keep markets open and essential goods flowing.

He added that the agreement is part of both countries' broader Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP).

According to a press release attributed to the Ministry of Trade and Industry, under AOTES, Singapore and New Zealand will commit not to impose unnecessary export restrictions on agreed essential supplies, including food, fuel, healthcare, chemical and construction products.

Hope that new standard will extend beyond bilateral ties

In the question and answer segment of the joint press conference, PM Wong said: "We hope, of course, that this new standard will be able to extend beyond our two countries, so we will welcome interest in other countries in the region coming on board".

"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."

In the same segment of the joint press conference, Luxon said:

"We are also very open to saying to other countries that this is something of value to you, and that you can meet the standard and are prepared to back each other and have each other's backs in the way that we've modelled that out, we would welcome that as well."

Business, defence and digital economy

PM Wong outlined key areas for strengthened cooperation between Singapore and New Zealand.

For business partnerships and opportunities, the Singapore-New Zealand Leadership Forum held today brings together senior business leaders from both countries.

In his opening remarks, PM Wong said Singapore companies are doing more in New Zealand, for example, ComfortDelGro now operates Auckland’s metro rail network, together with an Australian partner.

New Zealand companies are also active in Singapore, with PM Wong naming Beca and Fonterra as examples.

For defence and security ties, PM Wong said in the joint press conference: "Singapore values New Zealand’s longstanding support for the Singapore Armed Force’s training in Waiouru, and we will likewise continue to support the New Zealand Defence Force’s access in and through Singapore".

In the joint press conference, PM Wong said both countries will also be working together in newer areas, including unmanned technologies.

He also mentioned new opportunities that both countries can pursue, such as in the digital economy and how to deploy the use of AI.

"We are unlikely as two small, open economies to be able to build the largest foundation models, but we can be leaders in AI deployment, in use cases," he said.

Healthcare, food supply and digital economy

For critical areas like healthcare and food supply, both countries are sharing lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic to be more prepared for future pandemics.

According to a Ministry of Health press release, Singapore and New Zealand signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on healthcare cooperation.

This includes areas of primary care, preparedness for outbreaks of infectious diseases and supply chain resilience for healthcare drugs.

PM Wong said that both countries are "making it easier and more efficient to trade food and primary products".

According to the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), the agri-food trade will be streamlined with the use of electronic certification in an implementing arrangement signed in February 2026.

SFA said this arrangement builds upon electronic health certification for meat and milk products.

For people-to-people ties, both countries will also continue to invest in education, culture and professional exchanges, including between judiciaries, teachers and civil servants.

Both countries to chair regional forums in 2027

In 2027, Singapore will chair the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), and New Zealand will chair the Pacific Islands Forum.

PM Wong said he welcomes New Zealand's upgrading of its relations with Asean to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

PM Wong said that beyond bilateral ties, Singapore and New Zealand will work together on the wider stage.

PM Wong said: "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."

"In these uncertain times, partnerships like this become even more important. We may be small countries at least in terms of population. But we have agency."