16 Nov 2017 - Foreign Minister’s APEC and EAS visit. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister the Rt Hon Winston Peters returns to New Zealand overnight following a visit to Viet Nam and the Philippines where he attended the APEC Meetings in Da Nang, and the East Asia Summit in Manila. “My first visit to these two major regional summits as Foreign Minister provided a valuable opportunity to be reacquainted with counterparts who I have previously met, and to have introductory meetings with Foreign Ministers from a significant number of countries where New Zealand has strong economic and strategic interests”, Mr Peters said.
Across both summits, Mr Peters had formal meetings with the Foreign Ministers of eleven countries, including Australia, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Lao Peoples’ Democratic Republic, Papua New Guinea, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam, and the United States.
Additionally, Mr Peters met informally with Foreign Ministers from a range of other countries, including Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Indonesia and Malaysia. Mr Peters also accompanied the Prime Minister the Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern to meetings with her counterparts.
“The visit allowed me to participate in discussions on the big issues facing the Asia‑Pacific region, including the threat posed by North Korea’s actions, the territorial disputes in the South China Sea, the challenge of countering terrorism in South East Asia, and the conflict and resulting humanitarian crisis in Myanmar’s Rakhine State”, Mr Peters said.
Mr Peters also launched a new phase of New Zealand Official Development Assistance supporting the development of Viet Nam’s dragon fruit industry. In the Philippines, the Minister also announced a new phase of New Zealand assistance to support agriculture‑based livelihoods and agribusiness in Mindanao.
Mr Peters also confirmed the appointment of New Zealand Honorary‑Consuls to Davao and Cebu, further strengthening New Zealand’s relationship with the Philippines.
| A beehive release || November 16, 2017 |||