ANKARA

New Zealand and Thailand announced Wednesday that they would be upgrading their bilateral relationship to the level of strategic partnership by 2026.

"New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build on our long-standing and warm relationship," New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said in a statement after meeting with his Thai counterpart Srettha Thavisin in Bangkok.

The decision will come after 70 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries, said a New Zealand government statement.

Luxon and Srettha also discussed ways to bolster cooperation in defense and security, education, and people-to-people links, the statement added.

Economic cooperation was another key focus of the meeting, during which the sides set a shared goal to triple two-way trade by 2045, it said, noting that Thailand has been a consistent top-10 two-way trade partner for New Zealand.