New Zealand's foreign service has been given a massive boost in funding, Minister Winston Peters says in a pre-budget announcement.

New Zealand's foreign service has been given a massive boost in funding - taking its total four-year vote to near $1 billion - to cater for the Government's "Pacific reset" and the reopening of an embassy in Sweden.

Foreign Minister Winston Peters has unveiled his department's Budget allocation, at a special announcement ahead of next week's Government Budget reveal.

The funding boost for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) will also see New Zealand's diplomatic corps increased by another 50 positions.

MICHAEL CRAIG/POOL Jacinda Ardern in the Cook Islands earlier this year.

Peters said the announcement reflected the "critical role" MFAT played in keeping New Zealand safe and prosperous.

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"New Zealand needs to rebuild expertise and resourcing to respond to an increasingly turbulent global environment."

KEVIN STENT/STUFF Foreign Minister Winston Peters has unveiled his department's budget for the year, including plans to reopen New Zealand's Stockholm embassy and a major boost for aid in the Pacific.

MFAT would receive an operational expenditure increase of $150.4m across four years, and an additional $40.3 in capital expenditure, which would allow for the new embassy that was closed by former National Minister Murray McCully in 2012.

The Government would also be bracing for some big investment in the Dubai World Expo in 2020, and New Zealand's hosting of the Apec forum in 2021.

Trade Minister David Parker welcomed the announcement, saying it would significantly strengthen New Zealand's ability to negotiate quality trade deals.

"This is an investment in the jobs and businesses that rely on exports. Facing threats of increasing barriers, New Zealand needs to fight harder than ever for open and free trade," David Parker said.

"It will also mean more resources to help us uphold existing rules in the WTO and work directly with our free trade partners."

THE HEFT BEHIND THE PACIFIC RESET

Peters also announced a whopping $714.2m allocation to the Official Development Assistance fund - or foreign aid - that will be heavily prioritised towards the Pacific.

He said the funding was a "clear demonstration" to the international community that New Zealand was serious in addressing global and regional challenges and helping people in need".

"Increased investment will enable New Zealand to deliver on our Pacific Reset. It will bolster our efforts to tackle priority issues like climate change in the region," said Peters.

"We will assist our partners to make progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals; support youth across the region with access to health services, education and training; and promote the sustainable and inclusive growth of Pacific economies."

He said there would be "serious dangers and greater costs".

His comments and the funding announcement come just a day after former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited New Zealand with a warning over China's "soft power" push into the Pacific region.

Indeed, both the New Zealand and Australian Government have expressed concern at China's increasing presence in the region through a form of "chequebook diplomacy", offering loans and the building of key infrastructure projects throughout a number of island nations.

New Zealand's aid support for multilateral and humanitarian agencies had declined over the past nine years, and sat well below international averages.

New Zealand is the Pacific's second-largest donor, accounting for around a tenth of total development spending in the region. And about 60 per cent of New Zealand's total aid spend goes to its Pacific neighbours, however, that spending has not kept pace.

Despite a longtime global commitment to lift its aid spend to 0.7 per cent of gross national income (GNI), New Zealand's spending as proportion of GNI dropped from 0.3 per cent in 2008 to 0.25 per cent in 2016.

"New Zealand's credibility as a humanitarian donor has been tested. The funding announced today will reverse this decline and lift New Zealand's Overseas Development Assistance to 0.28 per cent of gross national income over the next four years," said Peters.

"Stepping up our financial contribution to multilateral institutions like the United Nations bodies and the World Bank will show New Zealand's seriousness in being a responsible international citizen," he said.

"DIPLOMATS AHEAD OF DOCTORS"

Opposition leader Simon Bridges criticised the spend, saying the Government had gotten its priorities "badly wrong".

"Just weeks after the Prime Minister broke her promise of universal cheap GP visits claiming the Government didn't have enough money, she's written Winston a massive cheque to invest offshore and to open new embassies and hire more diplomats.

"What matters more to New Zealanders – more diplomats or more doctors," he said.

Bridges also said the $1b spend proved the Government's claims of underfunding in health and education were "ludicrous".

But funding for the operation of the department and the diplomatic corps had lagged in recent years and Peters pointed to an effective long-term funding freeze.

"Funding over the past nine years has not kept pace with the challenges New Zealand faces internationally. The department tasked with that responsibility has been hollowed out and weakened as it was gutted of expertise and experience through a bungled restructure and years of underfunding."

New Zealanders were aware of the international risks, which included a range of threats from cyber crime and espionage, to terrorism and security and economic threats including a turn to protectionism that threatened key institutions like the World Trade Organisation and the United Nations.

"It is important that our voice is heard in the right place at the right time to protect our interests," said Peters.

MFAT currently has 248 staff posted offshore spread over 58 posts, and 672 staff based in New Zealand.