New Zealand and Turkey formalised diplomatic relations between both countries in 1979 but had unofficial forms of contact with each other prior to 1979.

The main combatants on the side of the allies were the British, French, and Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZACs).

[4] A memorial to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the commander of the Turkish forces at Gallipoli who went on to become the founder of modern Turkey, is sited at Tarakina Bay overlooking the entrance to Wellington harbour.

[5] On 23 October 2021, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared the New Zealand Ambassador Wendy Hinton "persona non grata" after she joined the ambassadors of nine other Western countries including the United States, Germany, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden in calling for the release of the imprisoned businessman and philanthropist Osman Kavala.

[6][7] On 25 October, Erdogan backtracked on his initial threats to expel the ten ambassadors following criticism from opposition parties, stating that the diplomats had fulfilled their commitment to Article 41 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and that they would be more careful in their future statements.

[8][9] In 2023, Following the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquakes in which a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Turkey and Syria, resulting in thousands of casualties and widespread damage, the New Zealand government responded by committing $1.5 million in humanitarian support to assist in the relief efforts.

The financial assistance was given to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, would support the delivery of essential relief items such as food, medical aid, and psychological support to affected individuals in both countries.

The earthquake prompted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to advise all New Zealanders in Turkey to follow the advice of local authorities and register their details on the SafeTravel website.

New Zealand is a part of numerous international organisations such as the United Nations (UN), The World Trade Organisation (WTO), World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), OECD, Asian Development Bank, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

[17] ISAF's primary goal was to train the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and assist Afghanistan in rebuilding key government institutions.

On 1 March 2003, The Turkish parliament rejected being an active member of the US-led coalition forces in Iraq.

New Zealand contributed a small engineering and support force to assist in post-war reconstruction and provision of humanitarian aid.

[19] These leaders argued that there was no evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and that invading the country was not justified.