That global position came through the "cradle of trade agreements" it was negotiating around the world, but particularly in Asia, she said, while visiting Dunedin.
Gone are the men in suits talking vaguely about the "old country" and talking about selling meat, wool and dairy products to England without understanding that New Zealand had undergone a major economic change since the late 1980s.
Mrs Treadell (50) was keen to use her own Asian ancestry to build on New Zealand's position in the region, which in turn would help the United Kingdom.
Mrs Treadell was appointed to the job about six months ago and it was one she fought hard to win.
About 37 people applied for the job. That list was whittled down to five and each of those faced a panel which asked probing questions about what each candidate could add to the position.
"It was the most highly sought-after job in 2009, I found out later."
When she took over on May 29, after four frenetic and fascinating years as deputy high commissioner heading the Western India team, based in Mumbai, friends were concerned.
"They were concerned that after a heavily focused business brief in India's commercial and financial hub, with the daily cut and thrust of the corporate world and the occasional challenge of a major terrorist incident, that I may find Wellington sedate.
"They were wrong to worry."
The challenges and opportunities in New Zealand were different but the job was no less interesting.
Trade and investment would remain important between Britain and New Zealand but there was a new order emerging as New Zealand worked to understand how it saw itself in the world.
That meant Britain also had to look at New Zealand not so much as a distant country but one that was in the centre of Asia and the Pacific, Mrs Treadell said.
"New Zealand is the platform for the UK to do business in Australasia, the Pacific and Asia - a staging post, not just a market of four million people. We want New Zealand to see the UK not just as the UK but a staging post for Europe.
"Maybe the UK and NZ could do the Asian thing together."
Often, the UK and New Zealand relationship was viewed in a historical sense, she said. While the past was important, few people looked at what was the right sort of relationship to help eachother in the future.
That was what she pledged to do.
One of the things that surprised her while researching for the job interview was finding it was about 30 years since a British foreign minister had visited New Zealand.
"If you are close, then why don't you visit? If you care about the relationship you work at it to keep it fresh."
Mrs Treadell also pledged that early next year, a senior ranking Cabinet minister would visit New Zealand. She could provide no further details except to promise it would happen.
Mrs Treadell is the first woman British High Commissioner of Asian descent in Foreign Office history.
She had a Cantonese mother and her father had French-Dutch ancestry. When her family left Malaysia to live in England in 1968, her mother, a dressmaker and designer was given a large wooden sign with bold Chinese characters from a family member wishing her well for the future. The sign now hangs in Mrs Treadell's official Karori residence.
While visiting Dunedin, Mrs Treadell met Mayor Dave Cull to talk about some of the challenges this city was facing.
Mr Cull was keen on the "weightless exports" through technology, something Mrs Treadell had experience with in northwest England, particularly Manchester and Liverpool.
She believed her experience could benefit Dunedin as her role was to drive the international trade and investment agenda as a key pillar of regional economic development.
"I loved working with companies to help them internationalise and I learnt what makes a business tick and the importance of international trade in a globalised world."
Mrs Treadell believed that Dunedin could avoid some of the mistakes the cities in northwest England had made by using their experience and jump several evolutionary steps by becoming closer to its sister city Edinburgh and learning what worked in both regions.
Both regions had faced similar problems to those being now dealt with by Dunedin.
The high commission would use the 2011 Rugby World Cup to engage businesses and, hopefully, strengthen business relationships.
The Conservative-led British Government was keen for stronger political relationships to develop and businesses wanted to build on New Zealand's strong links in the Asia-Pacific region.
What Mrs Treadell wanted to create a "historical reference point" for 30 years in the future.
"We are not being complacent about this relationship. My job is moving this from complacency to pro-active action. I want to be part of a dynamic new relationship," she said.
Treadell file
Vicki Treadell
• British High Commissioner, Wellington.
• Born in Malaysia to Singapore Chinese mother and French/Dutch father.
• Aged 50.
• Married to Alan, also a British diplomat.
• Replaced George Fergusson.
• Became a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in the latest British Queen's Birthday Honours.
• Postings in Islamabad, Kuala Lumpur and Mumbai.
• New Zealand is the platform for the UK to do business in Australasia, the Pacific and Asia - a staging post, not just a market of four million people
