The Department of National Defense (DND) on Thursday said the Philippines and New Zealand are set to sign a Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SoVFA) in the second quarter of this year following the conclusion of negotiations between the two nations.

DND spokesperson Arsenio Andolong said the final negotiating round was hosted by New Zealand through a hybrid arrangement on 18 February. The negotiations were led by Defense Undersecretary Pablo Lorenzo and New Zealand Ministry of Defense (MoD) Director Kathleen Pearce.

“A SoVFA between the Philippines and New Zealand will bolster defense and military ties between the two countries, enabling the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) to conduct exercises in each other’s territories,” Andolong said.

The Philippine negotiating panel included Presidential Commission on Visiting Forces Undersecretary Antonio Habulan Jr., DND Assistant Secretaries Marita Yoro and Erik Lawrence Dy, Department of Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretaries Aileen Mendiola-Rau and Patrick Chuasoto, along with Officer-in-Charge Paulo Saret; and Department of Justice State Counsels Ma. Pamelyn Omalin, Dave Fatalla and Albert Abragan.

New Zealand representatives from the MoD, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment participated virtually from Wellington.

The New Zealand delegation was joined by the ambassador of New Zealand to the Philippines, Dr. Catherine McIntosh, and other embassy officials.

“After finalizing the text of the agreement, both sides expressed optimism about signing the agreement in the second quarter of 2025,” Andolong said.

The Philippines and New Zealand officially began negotiations for the SoVFA on 23 January 2025. The first round of talks was hosted by the Philippine government in Manila.

A SoVFA will reinforce the Memorandum of Arrangement that was signed in 2017 by the DND and AFP with the MoD of New Zealand on defense cooperation.

It will allow both countries’ armed forces to expand cooperative activities and conduct exercises in each other’s territories, deepening overall defense and military cooperation.

The Philippines has VFAs with several countries, most notably with the United States, Australia and Japan.

The VFA with the US, signed in 1998, governs the entry and activities of American military personnel in the country, allowing for joint military exercises, humanitarian assistance, and disaster response operations under the broader Mutual Defense Treaty of 1951.