parties to the agreement The Agreement between New Zealand and Singapore on a Closer Economic Partnership (CEP) entered into force on 1 January 2001. It is the most comprehensive trading agreement that

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

has negotiated, with the exception of the Closer Economic Relations agreement with Australia. The CEP aims to build on the close historical ties between

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

and New Zealand by improving opportunities for trade in goods, services and investment. In September 1999, New Zealand and Singapore announced intentions to negotiate a trade agreement. The agreement was led by Philip Lewin on the New Zealand side. New Zealand PM

Helen Clark Helen Elizabeth Clark (born 26 February 1950) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and was the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She was ...

and PM

Goh Chok Tong Goh Chok Tong (; born 20 May 1941) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1990 and 2004, and Secretary-General of the People's Action Party between 1992 and 2004. He was the Member of Parliament (M ...

signed the Agreement between New Zealand and Singapore on a Closer Economic Partnership (ANZSCEP), in a signing ceremony held on 14 November 2000 in Singapore. Singapore hosted the 1st Ministerial Review of the Agreement in November 2001, while New Zealand hosted the 2nd Ministerial Review of the Agreement in July 2004. The CEP is comprehensive, covering goods, services, investment and technical and hygiene/quarantine barriers to trade in goods. Over the 2 years since the agreement came into effect, Singapore's bilateral trade with New Zealand rose from $0.97 billion (2000) to S$1.09 billion (2002), an increase of 12.6%. Beyond providing improved market access, the ANZSCEP also brings economic cooperation between Singapore and New Zealand to new heights. In 2002, New Zealand set up her first overseas technology center in Singapore to support New Zealand companies in commercializing technologies and internationalizing business.

References

Treaties of New Zealand Treaties of Singapore Treaties concluded in 2000 Treaties entered into force in 2001 New Zealand–Singapore relations 2000 in Singapore 2000 in New Zealand {{NewZealand-gov-stub