Brunei Darussalam

Our relationship with Brunei Darussalam

New Zealand has a warm and friendly relationship with Brunei. Our cooperation extends across defence, trade, and education.

As active economies in the Indo-Pacific regional, Brunei and New Zealand have regular engagement with one another in regional fora. These fora include:

• The East Asia Summit (EAS) and Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), which Brunei Chaired in 2021;
• the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), which New Zealand chaired in 2021; and
• the Commonwealth.

As a Muslim-majority nation, Brunei is also a member of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC).

Education

Around 100 students from Brunei study in New Zealand each year. Otago and Auckland Universities have an arrangement with the Brunei government in which they take a small number of Bruneian medical and dental students.

People-to-people links

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 150 New Zealanders were registered with the Ministry as living in Brunei, many working as teachers. Several New Zealand pilots and engineers work for Royal Brunei Airlines. Other New Zealanders work in Brunei’s oil and gas sector and as professional consultants. The New Zealand Defence Force has bilateral engagement with Brunei, including military exercises, training assistance and annual discussions.

Trade

Information about New Zealand's trade with Brunei is available on the New Zealand Trade Dashboard(external link).

Free trade agreements with Brunei

Brunei and New Zealand have similar views on trade liberalisation. We have four regional free trade agreements that include Brunei:

• The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)
• The Agreement establishing the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA);
• The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP); and
• The Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (P4).

The cooperation with Brunei is particularly rich in AANZFTA, where Brunei is the country coordinator for ASEAN.

Embassies 

• New Zealand is represented in Brunei by the New Zealand High Commission(external link).
• Brunei Darussalam is accredited to New Zealand by the High Commission of Brunei Darussalam(external link).