Foreign Affairs Under-Secretary to travel to Myanmar

  • Fletcher Tabuteau
Foreign Affairs

Foreign Affairs Under-Secretary Fletcher Tabuteau will travel to Myanmar this weekend to attend the 13th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Foreign Ministers meeting being chaired by Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi.

“I look forward to the meeting with the Asia and European representatives from two regions which are of great importance to New Zealand,” Mr Tabuteau says.

The main issues to be discussed at this year’s ASEM meeting, which takes place on 20-21 November in Nay Pyi Taw, will be North Korea, nuclear non-proliferation, economic development, and connectivity.

“I will also take the opportunity to discuss the crisis in northern Rakhine with the Myanmar authorities,” Mr Tabuteau says.

While visiting Myanmar, Mr Tabuteau will also meet with alumni of New Zealand education programmes and the New Zealand Chamber of Commerce in Yangon.

Notes to Editors:

ASEM has 53 members:

  • Asia: Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Republic of Korea, Lao, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russian Federation, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam, Association of South East Asian Nations.
  • Europe: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, European Union.