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Foreign Minister Murray McCully has announced he will attend the Counter-ISIL Foreign Ministers’ meeting being hosted by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Washington DC on 22 March.

“New Zealand is committed to supporting Iraq as it addresses the threat posed by ISIL and works to stabilise affected communities,” Mr McCully says.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully will travel to Samoa this week to meet with Prime Minister Tuilaepa and members of his Cabinet.

“My discussions with Prime Minister Tuilaepa and the Government of Samoa will cover a range of matters including renewable energy, New Zealand’s support to Samoa’s tourism sector and New Zealand’s Pacific Sporting Partnerships Programme,” Mr McCully says.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully has condemned in the strongest terms today’s launch of multiple missiles by North Korea.

“This decision is highly provocative and deeply detrimental to regional and global security,” Mr McCully says.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully travels to the Gulf region this weekend for meetings in Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain. 

“Our relationships with this important region are growing at a great pace and my visit will be an opportunity to continue discussions about priority areas, including the NZ-GCC FTA, regional security issues and cooperation in areas such as renewable energy,” Mr McCully says.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully will travel to the Cook Islands this week to undertake a range of meetings, including with Prime Minister Henry Puna and his Cabinet.

“My discussions with Prime Minister Puna and his Cabinet will cover a range of matters including New Zealand’s support to the Cook Island’s tourism sector, which accounts for over 60% of national GDP,” Mr McCully says.  

Foreign Minister Murray McCully will travel to Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands next week for meetings with their political leaders about partnerships, economic development and maintaining political stability.

“Papua New Guinea is the largest Pacific Islands country, a leader in the region, and an important partner for New Zealand,” Mr McCully says.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully welcomes the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Péter Szijjártó to New Zealand, who he will meet in Auckland on Friday this week.

“This visit presents an opportunity to deepen this relationship, including through discussing trade opportunities and New Zealand’s ambitions for a Free Trade Agreement with the EU,” Mr McCully says.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully has welcomed to New Zealand the Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi, who he will meet in Auckland tomorrow.

“This year, New Zealand celebrates 45 years of bilateral relations with China, and our important partnership continues to be forward-looking,” says Mr McCully.

“Our two-way trade stands at over $23 billion and our aim is for this to reach $30 billion by 2020. We’ve grown in education connections and tourism, with 70 direct flights a week between our countries.”

Foreign Minister Murray McCully will travel to Australia this week to meet his Australian counterpart Julie Bishop for formal six monthly foreign policy consultations. He will also meet a range of other senior ministers and the opposition Foreign Affairs spokesperson.

“These twice yearly consultations are an opportunity for us to exchange views across a range of foreign policy issues,” Mr McCully says.

The spirit of unanimity in which the United Nations Security Council passed resolution 2334 on December 23 stands in sharp contrast to the condemnation and accusations that have dominated subsequent commentary from Israel and that country's supporters.

New Zealanders deserve to know why the issue of settlements has become so challenging, and why it came before the council in December 2016.