Brunei joined ASEAN on 7 January 1984, one week after resuming full independence, and gives its ASEAN membership the highest priority in its foreign relations. Brunei joined the United Nations in September 1984. It is also a member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and the Commonwealth of Nations. Brunei hosted the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in November 2000. In 2005 it attended the inaugural East Asia Summit.
Singapore maintains diplomatic relations with 189 UN member states. The three exceptions are the Central African Republic, Monaco and South Sudan.
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Following the success of ASEAN's series of post-ministerial conferences launched in the mid-1980s, APEC started in 1989, in response to the growing interdependence of Asia-Pacific economies and the advent of regional trade blocs in other parts of the world; it aimed to establish new markets for agricultural products and raw materials beyond Europe. Headquartered in Singapore, APEC is recognized as one of the highest-level multilateral blocs and oldest forums in the Asia-Pacific region, and exerts significant global influence.
The ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) is a trade bloc agreement by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations supporting local trade and manufacturing in all ASEAN countries, and facilitating economic integration with regional and international allies. It stands as one of the largest and most important free trade areas (FTA) in the world, and together with its network of dialogue partners, drove some of the world's largest multilateral forums and blocs, including Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, East Asia Summit and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
The Australia–New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement, commonly known as Closer Economic Relations (CER), is a free trade agreement between the governments of New Zealand and Australia. It came into force on 1 January 1983, but the actual treaty was not signed until 28 March 1983 by the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and Minister for Trade, Lionel Bowen and the New Zealand High Commissioner to Australia, Laurie Francis in Canberra, Australia. This was because Malcolm Fraser and Robert Muldoon hated each other personally to such an extent that they refused to ratify the agreement if the other was there.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), or Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), was a proposed trade agreement between 12 Pacific Rim economies: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam, and the United States. In the United States, the proposal was signed on 4 February 2016 but not ratified, being opposed by many Democrats and Republicans, including both major-party presidential nominees, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. After taking office, the newly elected President Donald Trump formally withdrew the United States from TPP in January 2017, therefore the TPP could not be ratified as required and did not enter into force. The remaining countries negotiated a new trade agreement called Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, which incorporates most of the provisions of the TPP and which entered into force on 30 December 2018.
The East Asia Economic Caucus (EAEC) or East Asia Economic Group (EAEG) was a regional free trade zone (FTA) proposed in 1997 by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and encompasses most nations of East and Southeast Asia (ESEA). However, Japan at the time refused participation due to the exclusion of the United States, which at the time had tariffs on each other, has an economy too deeply interlinked through trade, and was still reeling from the effects of the Japanese asset price bubble. They also added that they were already members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and many other notable regional organizations in ESEA. South Korea was also extremely dissatisfied with the idea of placing Japan at the center of the proposed organization due to historical connotations.
The Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) is a network of member committees composed of individuals and institutions dedicated to promoting cooperation across the Asia Pacific region, headquartered in Singapore. PECC has 23 full member committees Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Chile; China; Colombia; Ecuador; Hong Kong; Indonesia; Japan; Korea; Malaysia; Mexico; Mongolia; New Zealand; Peru; the Philippines; Singapore; Taiwan; Thailand; the United States; Vietnam and the Pacific Islands Forum, one associate member: France, and 2 institutional members: Pacific Trade and Development Conference (PAFTAD) and the Pacific Basin Economic Council (PBEC).
According to the U.S. State Department, relations between New Zealand and the United States as of August 2011 are "the best they have been in decades." New Zealand is a major non-NATO ally of the United States.
The Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia or ERIA is an international organization established in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2008 by a formal agreement among Leaders of 16 countries in the East Asian region to conduct research activities and make policy recommendations for further economic integration in the East Asia. ERIA works very closely with both the ASEAN Secretariat and 16 Research Institutes to undertake and disseminate policy research under the three pillars, namely “Deepening Economic Integration”, ”Narrowing Development Gaps”, and “Sustainable Development” and provide analytical policy recommendations to Leaders and Ministers at their regional meetings. ERIA provides intellectual contributions to East Asian Community building and serves as a Sherpa international organization. ERIA Ranks 9th among the world's "Top International Economics Think Tanks" according to the 2020 Global Go To Think Tanks Index Report conducted by the University of Pennsylvania.
New Zealand is party to several free trade agreements (FTAs) worldwide.
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership is a free trade agreement among the Asia-Pacific nations of Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The 15 member countries account for about 30% of the world's population and 30% of global GDP, making it the largest trade bloc in history. Signed in November 2020, RCEP is the first free trade agreement among the largest economies in Asia, including China, Indonesia, Japan, and South Korea.
The Hong Kong – New Zealand Closer Economic Partnership Agreement is a bilateral free trade agreement signed between the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China and New Zealand in March 2010. It is the first bilateral free trade agreement on goods and services that Hong Kong SAR has signed with a foreign country. Hong Kong-New Zealand CEPA complements New Zealand's Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China two years before, and enhances the potential for Hong Kong to be used as a platform for trade into the Mainland China. Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region of China but has autonomy in matters of trade.
The negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement were held between 12 countries between 2008 and 2015. The negotiations were aimed at obtaining an agreement between the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement parties Brunei, Chile, Singapore and New Zealand, as well as the Australia and the United States.
The Anti-TPPARally or Perhimpunan Aman Bantah TPPA (Malay) is a rally that was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on January 23, 2016. The rally was organised by a coalition of non-governmental organisations, Bantah TPPA and Kongres Rakyat, and supported by various non-governmental organisations. The rally was held in response to the Malaysian government's signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement in which twelve countries, namely Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, United States, Vietnam and including Malaysia concluded the trade negotiations in Atlanta on October 5, 2015. Opponents of the agreement argued that although TPPA could increase Malaysia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), it was at the people's expense as it does not take into account issues faced by the people. The rally saw participants march from various points in Kuala Lumpur to their eventual destination, Dataran Merdeka.
Chile–New Zealand relations are the diplomatic relations between the Republic of Chile and New Zealand. Both nations are mutual members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, Cairns Group, OECD and the United Nations.
APEC Mexico 2002 was a series of political meetings held around Mexico between the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation during 2002. Leaders from all member countries met from 26–27 October 2002 in Los Cabos. Counter-terrorism efforts were major topics on the agenda of APEC Mexico 2002. The APEC summit attempted to present a new opportunity for Asian investors and commercial agents to discover Mexico as a profitable frontier in the future.
The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), also known as TPP11 or TPP-11, is a trade agreement between Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. It evolved from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which was never ratified due to the withdrawal of the United States. The eleven members have combined economies representing 13.4 percent of global gross domestic product, at approximately US$13.5 trillion, making the CPTPP one of the world's largest free-trade areas by GDP, along with the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement, the European single market, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. The United Kingdom formally signed the trade agreement on 16 July 2023 and will join the agreement when it has been ratified by all parties, or after 15 months if the UK and a majority of CPTPP parties have ratified it before it takes effect.
Lim Jock Hoi, also referred to as Dato Jock Hoi, is a Bruneian politician and diplomat who served as the 14th secretary-general of ASEAN between 2018 and 2022. He previously served as the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Brunei.
