Displaying 49 - 72 of 88 results.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully will travel to Mongolia this week to attend the 11th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit.

“The ASEM Summit brings together representatives from 53 European and Asian nations to foster closer relations between the two regions,” Mr McCully says.

“The membership includes some of New Zealand most important trading partners and represents nearly 60 per cent of the world’s GDP and population.

  • Murray McCully
  • Foreign Affairs

Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee and Foreign Minister Murray McCully today announced that this year’s Tropic Twilight Exercise will be conducted in Tonga’s Ha’apai group of islands.

“Tropic Twilight is an annual exercise in the Pacific which tests the readiness of the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) to work with the military and governments from around the region on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief,” Mr Brownlee says.

  • Murray McCully
  • Gerry Brownlee
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Defence

Foreign Minister Murray McCully today announced that New Zealand will provide a further $2.8 million in funding for the Afghan National Police and the Central Prison Department.

“Afghanistan continues to face a number of serious challenges particularly around security and the maintenance of law and order,” Mr McCully says.

  • Murray McCully
  • Foreign Affairs

Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully has named diplomat Greg Andrews as New Zealand’s next Ambassador to Belgium. He will also be accredited to Bulgaria, Luxembourg and Romania.

“New Zealand’s relationship with Belgium is important, as a large proportion of New Zealand's exports to the European Union enter through the Belgian ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge,” says Mr McCully.  

  • Murray McCully
  • Foreign Affairs

Foreign Minister Murray McCully today announced that New Zealand will make a $1.4 million contribution to help rebuild communities damaged by fighting in Iraq. This latest funding takes New Zealand’s humanitarian assistance to those affected by conflict in Syria and Iraq to $23.9 million over the past five years.

“Restoring core services and infrastructure in Iraq is crucial to ensuring that people displaced by conflict are able to return to the towns and cities retaken from ISIL,” Mr McCully says.

  • Murray McCully
  • Foreign Affairs

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Foreign Minister Murray McCully today announced that an agreement has been reached between the Governments of New Zealand and the United States of America covering the safeguards associated with the use in New Zealand of controlled U.S. rocket technology.

  • Murray McCully
  • Steven Joyce
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Economic Development

Foreign Minister Murray McCully travels to Norway this weekend to participate in the Oslo Forum, and will then travel to Finland, Latvia and Lithuania.

“The Oslo Forum is an annual meeting focused on conflict mediation and resolution,” Mr McCully says.

“The Forum provides a further opportunity for New Zealand to push for the resolution of key global conflicts, building on our efforts in the UN Security Council, and to reiterate New Zealand’s calls for a greater global focus on conflict prevention.”

  • Murray McCully
  • Foreign Affairs

New Zealand and the European Union today welcomed the successful conclusion of the Pacific Energy Conference in Auckland which saw donors commit over $1 billion for sustainable energy projects in the Pacific.

“The $635 million committed at the 2013 Pacific Energy Summit has translated into over $900 million of investments across 70 projects,” New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully says.

  • Murray McCully
  • Foreign Affairs

Foreign Minister Murray McCully has announced a new partnership between the European Union, New Zealand and the Government of Vanuatu, aimed supporting sustainable agricultural development.

“New Zealand and the EU have a strong track record of working together with Pacific Governments to deliver development gains,” Mr McCully says.

“The Partnership we have entered into today will see the EU and New Zealand providing support to Vanuatu’s agricultural sector, and it is a model for further cooperation between the EU and New Zealand in the region.

  • Murray McCully
  • Foreign Affairs

Foreign Minister Murray McCully has announced Steve Marshall as New Zealand’s next Ambassador to Myanmar.

“New Zealand’s engagement with Myanmar has expanded significantly since the country embarked on its political and economic reform process in 2011,” Mr McCully says.

“New Zealand continues to support Myanmar’s transition to democracy and we upgraded our resident Embassy Office in Myanmar to a full Embassy in 2014.

  • Murray McCully
  • Foreign Affairs

Foreign Minister Murray McCully and the European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development Mr Neven Mimica will lead a joint mission to the Pacific this week, accompanied by Minister for Climate Change Issues Paula Bennett.

The NZ EU Pacific Partnership Mission departs 1 June and will travel to Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Kiribati, and Tuvalu.

  • Murray McCully
  • Foreign Affairs

Foreign Minister Murray McCully travels to Tehran this weekend to meet with Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and other members of the Government, and then to Turkey for the World Humanitarian Summit.

“My visit to Tehran follows a successful visit to New Zealand by Minister Mohammad Zarif earlier this year,” Mr McCully says.

“Our discussions will cover a range of Middle East regional security issues and trade and economic relations between our two countries.

  • Murray McCully
  • Foreign Affairs

Foreign Minister Murray McCully has announced $2.5 million in matched funding for New Zealand based non-government organisations, to help scale up their response to the Syrian refugee crisis.

“The fighting in Syria has killed more than half a million people and forced 11 million from their homes,” Mr McCully says.

“Neighbouring countries, such as Jordan and Turkey, are bearing the brunt of this refugee crisis and the funding we have announced today will help deliver practical support to displaced Syrian communities across the region.

  • Murray McCully
  • Foreign Affairs

Foreign Minister Murray McCully travels to New York next week for meetings of the United Nations General Assembly and the United Nations Security Council.

“The United Nations General Assembly has called for a high-level debate on the peace and security challenges that the UN currently faces,” Mr McCully says.

“This is an opportunity to make the case for the UN to invest more in conflict prevention, in order to address threats to security before they escalate. 

  • Murray McCully
  • Foreign Affairs

Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee and Foreign Minister Murray McCully have announced that the New Zealand Defence Force have completed post-Winston relief operations in Fiji and are preparing to return home.

"The NZDF’s operation in Fiji is one of our biggest peacetime deployments to the Pacific, with close to 500 personnel, two ships and six aircraft, involved in delivering hundreds of tonnes of critical aid," Mr Brownlee says.

  • Gerry Brownlee
  • Murray McCully
  • Defence
  • Foreign Affairs

Foreign Minister Murray McCully travels to New York this weekend for UN Security Council related meetings, and will then travel to the UK, Germany and France.

Minister McCully will participate in a UN Security Council meeting on the Middle East region on Monday 18 April and will undertake a series of related bilateral meetings in New York.

  • Murray McCully
  • Foreign Affairs

Foreign Minister Murray McCully has welcomed the upcoming visit to New Zealand by 10 Pacific Fisheries Ministers.

“The Pacific’s largest asset economic asset is its fisheries and we are committed to helping Pacific nations to manage this resource in a sustainable way,” Mr McCully says.

“Next week Ministers from the Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu, will be in New Zealand to gain a first-hand understanding of our approach to fisheries management.

  • Murray McCully
  • Foreign Affairs

Foreign Minister Murray McCully travels to the Middle East this weekend for meetings in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. 

“As an elected member of the United Nations Security Council, New Zealand has a role to play in addressing the pressing crises affecting the Middle East, including the conflicts in Yemen, Syria, and Iraq,” Mr McCully says.

  • Murray McCully
  • Foreign Affairs

Foreign Minister Murray McCully has announced a $10 million package to help Fiji repair public infrastructure following Cyclone Winston.

“The impact of Cyclone Winston was widespread and Fiji now faces the long and expensive task of restoring infrastructure,” Mr McCully says.

“Of the funding announced today, $500,000 will used to supply building materials for projects being undertaken by the New Zealand Defence Force in the Lau Islands.

  • Murray McCully
  • Foreign Affairs

Foreign Minister Murray McCully is in the Cook Islands this week for the annual Cook Islands-New Zealand Joint Ministerial Forum.

“My discussions with Prime Minister Puna and members of his Cabinet will cover a range of matters including New Zealand’s development assistance to the Cook Islands as well as a number of regional issues,” Mr McCully says.

  • Murray McCully
  • Foreign Affairs

Foreign Minister Murray McCully has welcomed the launch of a New Zealand based Pacific think-tank aimed at supporting sustainable development in the region.

“We have identified the need for more targeted research on the Pacific, to underpin development initiatives and support Pacific decision makers,” Mr McCully says.

“The New Zealand Institute for Pacific Research (NZIPR) will work in support of Pacific governments and regional agencies, and will focus on producing the kind of hard-headed analysis that can support sustainable economic development.

  • Murray McCully
  • Foreign Affairs

Foreign Minister Murray McCully has described the most recent Israeli appropriation of land in the occupied Palestinian territories as deeply unhelpful. 

“Israel’s settlement activity continues to threaten the viability of a two-state solution,” Mr McCully says.

“New Zealand would like to see both sides return to the negotiating table and this latest announcement will only serve to push the two parties further apart.

  • Murray McCully
  • Foreign Affairs

Foreign Minister Murray McCully today welcomed the start of an official visit to New Zealand by the United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

“The UAE is an important partner for New Zealand in the Gulf region and our 10th largest export destination,” Mr McCully says.

“Our talks will focus on expanding two way trade, regional security issues, and the UAE’s support for renewable energy initiatives in the Pacific.

  • Murray McCully
  • Foreign Affairs

Foreign Minister Murray McCully will travel to Australia this week to meet with his Australian counterpart, Julie Bishop. 

“These twice-yearly Foreign Ministers’ Consultations are an opportunity to exchange views across a range of foreign policy issues,” Mr McCully says. 

“As well as taking stock of the Trans-Tasman relationship, we will discuss developments in the Pacific, including the post Cyclone Winston recovery effort, and how New Zealand and Australia best assist Fiji. 

  • Murray McCully
  • Foreign Affairs