Vanuatu

New Zealand and Vanuatu enjoy a warm relationship founded on our shared Pacific identity and anchored in our enduring people-to-people links and close development cooperation.

The Republic of Vanuatu gained independence in 1980 and New Zealand established their High Commission in Port Vila in 1987.

In 2023 New Zealand and Vanuatu signed a Statement of Partnership(external link) which expressed the values, priorities and principles that guide the New Zealand-Vanuatu relationship.

Development cooperation and sustainability

Vanuatu faces development challenges owing to its geographic spread, fast-growing youth population and its status as the most disaster-prone country in the world.

New Zealand’s development cooperation with Vanuatu covers: strengthening the public sector and its service delivery in education; governance and electoral systems; energy and water; increasing shared prosperity through growing benefits from tourism; labour mobility and the productive sector; while building resilience through climate change programming and disaster response.

New Zealand has been a reliable source of assistance for Vanuatu in times of crisis, contributing humanitarian assistance after Cyclones Pam, Harold, Kevin and Judy and others, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the volcanic eruption on the island of Ambae, amongst other events.

The latest information on our development cooperation activities, including activity details and descriptions, start and end dates, geographic and sectoral focus, expenditure figures, is available at DevData(external link).

People and culture

New Zealand and Vanuatu share a close relationship, shaped by our long-standing people-to-people links, stretching from New Zealand missionaries who visited Vanuatu in the 1860s, through to our education and labour mobility connections today.

Vanuatu citizens can participate in the Recognised Seasonal Employer(external link)  (RSE) scheme, which creates mutual benefit for New Zealand's horticulture sector and for the workers’ families and communities.

The Manaaki New Zealand Scholarships Programme(external link) provides tertiary and short-term training scholarships to Vanuatu scholars. Many Vanuatu political leaders have been educated in New Zealand.

Vanuatu is also a popular tourist destination for New Zealand travellers.

Trade and investment

Vanuatu’s economy is largely dependent on revenue from tourism, agriculture, labour mobility, and the country’s citizenship schemes.

Vanuatu is a significant trading partner in the Pacific for New Zealand.

We also pursue a range of strategies to help Vanuatu achieve sustainable economic growth — including supporting tourism, trade readiness, boosting economic integration, encouraging private sector development, and improving labour mobility.

Both New Zealand and Vanuatu have ratified the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations Plus (PACER Plus) which entered into force on 13 December 2020.

The latest information about New Zealand's trade profile with Vanuatu is available on the New Zealand Trade Dashboard(external link).

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