July 31 (UPI) — The FBI has for the first time opened a dedicated office in New Zealand, officials announced Thursday.

FBI Director Kash Patel traveled to the country this week to open the office in Wellington, which will house a dedicated law enforcement attache office.

“While the FBI has stationed personnel in New Zealand for several years, establishing a full legal position in the country will strengthen and enhance the longstanding cooperation with a key Five Eyes partner in the southwestern Pacific region,” Patel said in a statement.

The Five Eyes partnership comprises five countries including the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, all of which have a history of partnership and cooperation.

Patel added that the new office will also help the United States and New Zealand cooperate on shared security objectives in the region.

The Wellington office is the latest in a series of locations across the globe that the FBI has established to “investigate and disrupt a wide range of threats and criminal activities including terrorism, cybercrime and fraud, organized crime and money laundering, child exploitation and foreign intelligence threats,” the statement from Patel’s office continued.

The new office will oversee partnerships in New Zealand, Antarctica, Samoa, Niue, Cook Islands and Tonga.

The Wellington FBI office will continue to work on issues that the agency and the New Zealand police have already been pursuing, including investigating terrorist attacks in Christchurch, organized crime and money laundering activities, child exploitation and drug smuggling cases, cybercrime and fraud.

“Tackling these challenges demands close collaboration and trust, and our existing partnerships in New Zealand have already delivered notable successes,” the statement said.