Trade Minister Todd McClay will visit Japan and Singapore this week to discuss regional trade issues with his ministerial counterparts.

During his visit to Japan, which is the first stop, Mr McClay will meet with the Minister in charge of Economic Revitalization Nobuteru Ishihara.

“Japan is New Zealand’s fifth largest two-way trading partner, a significant source of foreign investment, and a key international partner in our efforts to liberalise trade in the Asia-Pacific region,” Minister McClay says.

“We need to sit down and discuss the future of trade between our two countries and how we can best support regional economic integration and trade liberalisation.”

In Singapore, Mr McClay will meet with Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang.

“Given both Japan and Singapore are Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) signatories, I will take the opportunity to exchange views on the United States’ recent withdrawal from its TPP ratification process.

Minister McClay will also visit Mexico for trade discussions next week.

| A Beehive release  |  January 6, 2017  ||