Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson have taken steps to enhance research, travel, and trade ties between the two nations.
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During the meeting at Downing St, the Prime Ministers agreed to enhance the two countries' bilateral Working Holiday/Youth Mobility Scheme.
“I am delighted we have concluded the upgrade to our Working Holiday/Youth Mobility Scheme which will allow more UK and New Zealand citizens to travel and work in each others’ countries for longer,” Ardern said.
Once in force, the age limit will be raised from 30 years to 35 years, and the length of stay extended to three years.
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The Prime Ministers also signed a new arrangement that sets a framework for further cooperation in research, science, and innovation activities.
The Prime Ministers also signed a new arrangement that sets a framework for further cooperation in research, science, and innovation activities.
”New Zealand and the UK have a celebrated history of Scientific collaboration, from Sir Ernest Rutherford travelling from Nelson to Cambridge to usher in a new era of physics to New Zealand company Rocket Lab launching microsatellites made by Scottish manufacturer Alba Orbital into space,” Ardern said.
“Our new research, science, and innovation arrangement will enable us to explore further opportunities to work together."
To improve trade, Ardern said the leaders agreed to a new fast-tracked customs process which will benefit exporters accessing both markets.
The UK and New Zealand signed a free trade agreement in February following a similar deal with Australia in late 2021.
“This new customs arrangement builds on our gold-standard Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and... will support New Zealand’s efforts to diversify our trade by opening up access to the UK’s NZ$3 trillion consumer market.”
The two are also expected to discuss security challenges facing the Indo-Pacific region and the war in Ukraine and have agreed to establish an annual Foreign Ministers Dialogue to streamline future collaboration.
