Global IssuesInternational OrganisationsAfricaAsia NorthAsia South and SoutheastAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaNewsMiddle EastNorth AmericaPacific
Start writing the country or territory name in the box. Typing more letters narrows the search. Click "go" or hit "Enter" to go to the information paper on the country or territory.
(We don't have information papers on all countries and territories.)
Although we have tried to use plain English content on the site, you may come across specialist terms and acronyms. Find out what they mean in our glossary of terms.
If you come across a term that isn't included in the Glossary please send us an email.
Latin America, stretching all the way from Mexico to the southern tip of Chile, is an increasingly important and dynamic part of the world. Its total GDP stood at approximately US$2.4 trillion in 2005. The region had an estimated total population of 508 million in 2000, and this is expected to rise to 625 million by 2015. Politics in Latin America are increasingly democratic, and the region looks set to develop into an economic powerhouse.
New Zealand has well-established ties to a number of Latin American countries, particularly trading links. Total exports to the region in the year to December 2006 were NZ$1.06 billion, mainly consisting of dairy products, while total imports stood at NZ$402 million for the same period. New Zealand cooperates with Latin American countries in a range of regional and multilateral organisations, including the United Nations, APEC, FEALAC, and the WTO. There is potential, however, to develop much broader links in the future, and this is a central aim of the government’s Latin America Strategy.
At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Latin America is covered by the Americas Division. The division has a Deputy Director for Latin America, and three policy officers who deal with Latin American issues. The Director of Americas Division has oversight of all of continental North and South America and the Caribbean.
New Zealand is represented in Latin America by embassies in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico. The Ambassador in Argentina is cross-accredited to Uruguay and Paraguay; the Ambassador in Chile is cross-accredited to Peru and Colombia; and the Ambassador in Mexico is cross-accredited to Guatemala, Venezuela, Cuba and El Salvador. The embassies’ efforts are supported by honorary consular representatives in Bogotá, Caracas, Guatemala City, Lima, and Montevideo, and by the Consulate-General in São Paulo.
