On 9 May 2025, Mrs. Eksiri Pintaruchi, Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Thailand, co-chaired with Mr. Bede Corry, Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade of New Zealand, the 13th Thailand–New Zealand Senior Officials’ Talks (SOTs) in Wellington, New Zealand. The meeting aimed to enhance bilateral cooperation and advance their dynamic bilateral relationship towards achieving a Thailand–New Zealand Strategic Partnership by 2026, in line with the Thailand–New Zealand Roadmap to Strategic Partnership 2024–2026. Discussions also covered progress on development of the Joint Declaration and the Joint Plan of Action.

The Permanent Secretary reaffirmed Thailand’s commitment to working with New Zealand to elevate bilateral ties to a Strategic Partnership. She also expressed support for activities to commemorate the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2026. She emphasised the importance of enhancing Thai–New Zealand relations through high-level visits and dialogues, including key bilateral mechanisms such as the SOTs, and underlined mutually beneficial cooperation, particularly in addressing transnational crime, leveraging both bilateral and multilateral economic cooperation frameworks to triple trade value by 2045, as well as, strengthening people-to-people ties through education, culture and tourism.

The meeting also addressed key regional and international developments. The Permanent Secretary reiterated Thailand’s support for New Zealand’s constructive role in ASEAN frameworks and multilateral platforms, and exchanged views on geopolitical competition in the Indo-Pacific, as well as the situation in Myanmar.

Following the SOTs, the Permanent Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade of New Zealand hosted a luncheon in honour of the Thai Permanent Secretary and delegation.