Suzannah Jessep's December 2025 CE Update
众人拾柴火焰高 (Zhòng rén shí chái huǒ yàn gāo). This proverb translates to "When everyone contributes wood, the fire burns brightly" and it perfectly captures everyone’s contribution to the Foundation’s work over what has been an epically productive and rewarding 30th anniversary year!
Even as I write this, we have two delegations forging connections and marking new ground in India and China. Until Christmas day, Asia doesn’t rest and neither do we 😊.
Ok, I admit this is increasingly sounding like a recipe for collapse. Don’t worry, these delegations have been in the planning stages for some months, and their timing reflects the fact that across much of Asia Christmas is enjoyed as one of many festive moments in a crowded cultural calendar, rather than as a defining national holiday. For the Asia New Zealand Foundation, that reality means working to the timing, tempo, and rhythms of Asia, as well as those of New Zealand.
The team is certainly looking forward to taking a summer break, but we can also look back with pride on what has been a hugely satisfying year – driven by talented people pursing great ideas, creativity, leaders stepping up, and aided by a renewed national focus on Asia that has given our work added momentum.
2025 has also been a year of significant diplomatic milestones: 50 years of formal ties with ASEAN, 50 years of diplomatic relations with Viet Nam, and 60 years with Singapore. Unsurprisingly, these anniversaries have given the year a distinctly Southeast Asian flavour.
Highlights included our entrepreneurs’ summit in Viet Nam; visits to New Zealand by Southeast Asian tech and agribusiness entrepreneurs; an art curators’ tour to Indonesia; an ASEAN experts’ gathering in Malaysia; and a sports leaders’ delegation to Singapore and Malaysia. Alongside this, we hosted a wide range of keynote speakers who have generously shared their expertise and helped us to deepen our understanding of the rapid changes taking place across Asia.
This year, the Foundation not only published our annual Perceptions of Asia research, but turned the lens around to gauge how S.E Asia views New Zealand
Our research team has had a record-breaking year, publishing seven reports - five of which focussed on New Zealand's connections to Southeast Asia. This included our first-ever Southeast Asian Perceptions of New Zealand report, which surveyed 200 experts in Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia to understand how New Zealand is seen from the outside. Encouragingly, the findings point to a clear appetite across the region for deeper ties; high trust levels; and warm people to people connections. Perceptions of Asia got a record 1.3m social media impressions and more than 13,000 visits to the online version of the report.
In November, 14 Leadership Network members visited Sri Lanka to deepen connections between the South Asia country and New Zealand
Other highlights include a recent Leadership Network visit to Sri Lanka. While devastating floods have since dominated headlines, the visit gave our young leaders an opportunity to see another island democracy up close and to better understand the political, economic and development challenges Sri Lanka continues to face.
Our inaugural New Zealand–India Entrepreneurship Initiative brought nine Indian agribusiness entrepreneurs to New Zealand to connect with local business leaders and explore collaboration opportunities. Our aim is to build a cohort of young Indian business leaders who understand New Zealand, know our market, and are ready to innovate alongside our entrepreneurs. The initiative quickly paid dividends, with one participant moving swiftly to arrange exports of Hawke’s Bay apples to India – a very satisfying early win. You can read more about that story here.
In 2025 the Foundation introduced the New Zealand-India Entrepreneurship Initiative, bringing the first group of Indian entrepreneurs to New Zealand in March
With a free trade agreement on the table, the New Zealand–India relationship feels especially pivotal. Travelling to the subcontinent in March as part of the Prime Minister’s delegation reinforced for me the shared ambition on both sides to deepen the partnership. This week, we are leading a delegation of festival directors, programmers and performing arts leaders to Goa to attend the Serendipity Arts Festival and meet their Indian counterparts, with plans also under way for sports and experts’ delegations in the New Year.
Professor Joseph Chinyong Liow in conversation with Professor David Capie at an event held at Victoria University of Wellington
This year also saw the launch of the Foundation’s first senior fellowship programme. We were delighted to host Professor Joseph Chinyong Liow of Nanyang Technological University and New Zealand–Asia relations expert Raf Manji as our inaugural fellows. Both were outstanding – generous with their insights across lectures, roundtables, commentary and stakeholder engagement. I particularly recommend Professor Liow’s article and podcast on Southeast Asia’s Fragile Order, published by our Asia Media Centre. I’ll be announcing our 2026 fellows in the New Year.
There were many other notable visits and exchanges. We supported dozens of sportspeople, artists, academics and journalists to travel independently across Asia to build connections and carry out research.
Last month, we farewelled 24 interns heading to Asia over summer to work with leading businesses, media organisations and sports bodies. Hearing what these young people have already achieved fills me with joy. Supporting young New Zealanders to build confidence and turn their experience into meaningful careers, enterprises and policy impact remains one of the most rewarding parts of my role.
The latest cohort of interns came together for a pre-departure briefing in Auckland last month
This week, we have also had a strong delegation in China focused on nutraceuticals and functional foods (in other words, health food). The group attended Healthplex 2025 in Shenzhen - Asia’s largest expo of its kind - alongside consumer trend roundtables, site visits and networking with Chinese and New Zealand businesses already active in the market. New Zealand enjoys a strong reputation in China for clean, green and trustworthy food, but it is not an advantage we can take for granted. For emerging Kiwi business leaders, the Chinese market can be daunting, which is why delegations like this are so valuable – part market-entry masterclass, part door-opener for immediate commercial opportunity.
The nutraceuticals and functional foods delegation in China to attend Healthplex 2025 in Shenzhen and make industry connections
I want to offer my personal thanks to Dr Samir Saran, President of the Observer Research Foundation and our Prime Minister’s 2025 Fellow, who joined us in Wellington last week for a podcast, roundtable and Leadership Network event. Hearing Samir reflect on India’s evolving global role – and on his own leadership journey – was a highlight. One comment in particular stayed with me: his reflection on India’s 250 million young people, many of whom are not short on ambition or talent, but on opportunity. It was a powerful reminder not to take our own circumstances for granted.
And finally – thank you.
To our readers and supporters: you drive us, challenge us, and make our work possible. To everyone who took part in Foundation activities, or supported us quietly behind the scenes: we couldn’t do this without you. And to my team: thank you for your hard work, energy and good humour – including the long hours, weekends, and fog of jetlag. You are an exceptional group of people, and I am deeply grateful for all that you do.
Wishing you all a happy Christmas break, wherever in the world you may be.
Ngā mihi nui,
Suz Jessep
