Foreign Minister Murray McCully travels to New York tomorrow for UN Security Council meetings.

“This will be my final visit to New York during our two years on the United Nations Security Council,” Mr McCully says.

“We are focused on working right up to the last day and while in New York I will participate in the quarterly Open Debate on the Middle East, which will include a briefing from outgoing UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and a Ministerial-level debate on Non-Proliferation hosted by the new Foreign Minister of Spain.

“I will also meet with incoming UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the head of UN Peacekeeping Operations, Hervé Ladsous.

“While New Zealand’s tenure on the Council is drawing to a close, many of the issues we have championed during our term will continue to be a focus for our foreign policy effort in the coming years.

“This visit is about ensuring that New Zealand is well positioned to continue pushing for top-level UN reform and other issues that matter to small states as we transition off the Security Council,” Mr McCully says.