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Foreign Minister, Murray McCully, is travelling to Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands this week to meet with leaders ahead of the Pacific Islands Forum in Auckland later this year.

“New Zealand is honoured to host this year’s meeting of Forum leaders in Auckland in September. We are determined to use our leadership role constructively and consult widely amongst Pacific nations in the lead up to the event,” Mr McCully said.

New Zealand today ratified a new Convention to manage fisheries in the South Pacific, says Foreign Minister Murray McCully and Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Phil Heatley.

Under the Convention, a new South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPRFMO) will administer an area of ocean from Western Australia to the waters off South America, covering the entire Tasman Sea and South Pacific Ocean.

Foreign Affairs Minister, Murray McCully, has announced two key appointments to Afghanistan as New Zealand takes the next steps in leading the transition process in the Bamyan region.

The new Ambassador to Afghanistan will be career diplomat Dr Justin Fepuleai. He had recent experience as Deputy Special Coordinator of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) in 2009 and 2010,

German Foreign Minister, Dr Guido Westerwelle, will visit New Zealand on Thursday and Friday this week to hold talks with Foreign Minister, Murray McCully, in Auckland.

“Germany is an important bilateral partner, the largest EU Member State and a key international player, so I’m delighted to host the first visit by a German Foreign Minister since 2005,” said Mr McCully.

With 100 days until the first whistle in the Rugby World Cup a series of key preparation milestones have been checked-off says the Rugby World Cup Minister, Murray McCully.

The tournament starts in Auckland on September 9th with the opening ceremony followed by the All Blacks versus Tonga match.

“It is pleasing to see the planning for the Rugby World Cup falling into place and one of the early signs of this will be a nation wide tour of the William Webb Ellis cup during July,” he said.

On 4 September 2010 a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck New Zealand’s second largest city, Christchurch, causing widespread damage.

Fortunately on that occasion there were no casualties.

Then on 22 February this year, a violent aftershock struck the city centre at lunchtime.

Among the 181 victims were many students from the Asia-Pacific region, the largest number coming from Japan. 

I take this opportunity on Japanese soil to express our deepest sympathies to the families who lost their loved ones.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully starts a visit to Japan and Indonesia tonight for bilateral discussions on regional economic events, the TPP free trade agreement, and regional security issues.

He has been invited by the President of the Nikkei Inc News Group to speak at the Nikkei Conference in Tokyo on “The future of Asia.”

Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you about some of the key features of New Zealand’s foreign policy, and in particular some key areas in which they intersect with the interests of the United States and provide a basis for closer cooperation in the years immediately ahead.

I am in Washington this week to continue the wide-ranging dialogue between New Zealand and the United States about areas in which we can work together and share perspectives.

US Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and Foreign Minister Murray McCully have today signed a joint statement on global supply chain security.

Secretary Napolitano and Minister McCully met at the Department of Homeland Security in Washington this morning where they signed the co-operation statement.

It is a commitment to pursue customs and border initiatives designed to protect critical elements of the supply chain system from terrorism and ensure if disruption occurs the commerce supply chain can recover quickly.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Good afternoon, everyone. It’s a real pleasure for me to welcome Foreign Minister McCully to the State Department and to return, in some small measure, the wonderful hospitality that I and my team enjoyed when we visited New Zealand late last year. And I know that President Obama is looking forward to welcoming Prime Minister Key to the Oval Office later this summer.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully is travelling to the United States today to meet with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other Obama Administration officials.

“The signing of the Wellington Declaration last November reaffirmed the strength of the New Zealand-US relationship,” Mr McCully said.

“I will meet with Secretary Clinton as part of our on-going dialogue with the United States on current issues, including Afghanistan, cooperation in the Pacific and developments in the Middle East.”

Mr Cunningham, Honourable Ministers, Parliamentary colleagues, Excellencies and members of the diplomatic corps, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen.

On behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Honourable Murray McCully, it is my honour to respond to the Chargé’s toast on this important occasion celebrating Europe Day.

As New Zealand and the European Union enter our 51st year of diplomatic relations, our links with Europe remain strong.

Foreign Minister, Murray McCully, is visiting Tonga and the Cook Islands this week to meet with leaders and hold talks on New Zealand’s programme of development assistance to the Pacific.

“New Zealand enjoys a strong and friendly friendship with Tonga and a particularly close relationship, underpinned by shared citizenship, with the Cook Islands,” Mr McCully said.

Ticket sales for Rugby World Cup games transferred from Christchurch will commence shortly, said Rugby World Cup Minister Murray McCully.

Rugby New Zealand 2011 has provided refunds to all ticket-holders for the transferred matches, and will offer those fans a repurchase opportunity for the transferred games in the week starting 16 May. A wider public sales process will then follow mid-year.

"We expect that a number of Christchurch ticket holders will be keen to renew their tickets for the quarter finals in Auckland in particular,” said Mr MCully.

New Zealand’s next Consul-General in Hong Kong will be Robert Kaiwai, Foreign Minister Murray McCully announced today. Resident in Hong Kong, the Consul General is also cross-accredited to Macau.

“New Zealand and Hong Kong enjoy a strong and constructive relationship. Hong Kong is an important trade and economic partner of New Zealand, and as regional trading economies with like-minded views on the benefits of free trade we have much in common,” Mr McCully said.

Minister for the Rugby World Cup Murray McCully says 16 different industry sectors have joined a nationwide business showcasing campaign to capture business leverage from the Rugby World Cup 2011 tournament.

The business sector groups including the food and beverage, marine, fashion, agribusiness and aviation industry all gathered in Auckland today for the launch of The REAL New Zealand Showcase.

Minister for Sport and Recreation Murray McCully has today personally congratulated a talented group of sports people awarded Prime Minister’s Sport Scholarships at a ceremony for South Island recipients in Christchurch. Ceremonies are held throughout the year to present certificates to recipients.

Foreign Minister, Murray McCully, says a Pacific regional counter-terrorism exercise is being hosted in New Zealand this week.

Exercise Ready Pasifika brings together police, legal experts and senior officials responsible for counter-terrorism from 14 Pacific Island countries for a table-top exercise being held in Auckland.

“While there is only a low level of threat to the Pacific region from terrorism, nowhere can be considered completely immune,” said Mr McCully.

On August 8th 1915, New Zealand soldiers reached the summit of Chunuk Bair, where we stand today, and saw, for the first time, the waters of the Dardanelles.

Men of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade and the Maori Contingent fought bravely in the advance to Chunuk Bair.

Daring night assaults under heavy fire prepared the way for the advance of the New Zealand Infantry Brigade towards the heights.

It was the Wellington Battalion, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel William Malone, that made the final push as the sun rose on August 8th.

Just before dawn, in the grey mist of the early morning, 96 years ago, the first ANZAC soldiers jumped into the cold waters here at what is now called ANZAC Cove.

Their orders were to seize part of the Sari Bair range behind you.

History records that this endeavour was misconceived and doomed to failure.

Yet from that failure, and the tragic loss of life it caused, was born a legend – the ANZAC legend.

That legend is today the foundation of the unique and inseparable bond between the peoples of Australia and New Zealand.

Rugby World Cup Minister, Murray McCully, has welcomed progress on the development of Queens Wharf for the Rugby World Cup 2011, and confirmed the range of activities that will take place on the wharf during the tournament.

Mr McCully also announced that Michael Barnett, Chief Executive of the Auckland Regional Chamber of Commerce, has been appointed to lead the showcasing programme in the Cloud during the Rugby World Cup.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully has today announced $1 million by New Zealand to support the international humanitarian effort to help civilians affected by fighting in Libya.

“The situation for civilians in Libya is rapidly deteriorating as intense fighting continues,” Mr McCully said.

“Five weeks of conflict has forced more than 350,000 people to flee their homes, left an unconfirmed number of civilians dead, and made the affected areas in Libya very difficult for aid agencies to reach safely.”

Foreign Affairs Minister, Murray McCully, departs today for a visit to Europe and the Middle East.

The Minister will join an international Foreign Ministers meeting in Berlin on Afghanistan and hold bilateral talks in Europe and the Middle East. He’ll attend the 96th anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign in Turkey.

Mr McCully said the Berlin meeting with International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) nations will further progress work on how best to transition provinces to Afghan leadership.

Foreign Affairs Minister, Murray McCully says two North Korean fishing vessels have been intercepted by a RNZAF P3 Orion carrying out surveillance against illegal fishing in the Ross Sea.

In February the Xiong Nu Baru 33 and Sima Qian Baru 22 were detected fishing to the east of the Ross Sea within the area managed by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).

The Xiong Nu Baru 33 was using deep-sea gillnets, which are banned in the CCAMLR Convention Area.