They share very similar social attitudes and values and have a substantial history of working together on issues of international importance.

Cultural connections between the two countries were enhanced in 2010, with “Te Hono ki Aotearoa”, a waka taua, being provided on permanent loan to the Dutch National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden.

Moreover, 256 New Zealand airmen killed in World War II lie buried in the Netherlands, in 85 different cemeteries.

[2] In 2003, a full size replica of a Dutch windmill, called De Molen was completed and opened in Foxton, New Zealand.

[7] Tasman sketched sections of the two main islands' west coasts and left and there was no further contact between the Netherlands and New Zealand for more than a hundred years.

The relationship was enhanced significantly with migration of large numbers of Dutch people to New Zealand after World War II.

[13] The Netherlands Embassy in Wellington estimated that there were approximately 45,000 Dutch citizens residing in New Zealand.

[2] The Netherlands is an important export destination for New Zealand's goods and a significant source of investment.