WELLINGTON, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand and Brazil have agreed to establish a trade and investment dialogue to grow trade and investment ties, New Zealand's Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay said Tuesday.
New Zealand and Brazil have built a solid partnership over the past 60 years, supported by people-to-people, education and cultural ties and a shared commitment to open, rules-based trade, McClay said in a statement.
"By setting up this dialogue, we're committing to work more closely together on trade and economic issues, as well as specific areas like WTO (World Trade Organization) reform," McClay was quoted as saying.
The dialogue will also be used to discuss ways to deepen broader trade relations, including through trade negotiations, the statement said, noting the agreement followed a meeting of senior officials from the two countries in September in Brasilia, Brazil's capital.
Two-way trade between the two countries totaled 528 million NZ dollars (about 299 million U.S. dollars) in the year to March 2026, statistics showed.
New Zealand's exports to Brazil were worth 205 million NZ dollars, including travel services, pharmaceuticals, fruits and nuts, and machinery. Brazilian exports to New Zealand totaled 323 million NZ dollars, led by coffee, tea and spices, wood pulp, pharmaceuticals and animal feed, the statement said. ■