Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta says New Zealand reconnecting with the world will be a focus of her new 11-day mission to Europe.
Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Mahuta will leave tomorrow to attend the Ministerial Forum for Co-operation in the Indo-Pacific, co-hosted by the European Union (EU) and France as the current President of the Council of the European Union.
"The Indo-Pacific Forum in Paris will be an important opportunity to engage on key issues facing our region and to ensure that Aotearoa New Zealand's voice and perspectives on issues affecting us and our Pacific partners are well registered," Mahuta said in a statement.
"As well as discussing Indo-Pacific issues, this is an opportunity to meet with a number of ministerial counterparts attending the Forum and discuss bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest."
Twenty-seven EU member states and a range of countries from the Indo-Pacific region have been invited to the forum
Although no longer part of the EU, the United Kingdom earlier this week pledged about $NZ50 million to strengthen security - including in areas of cyberspace, state threats and maritime security - in the Indo-Pacific region as part of a pact with Australia.
It came just a week after the Quad group of Australia, United States, Japan and India pledged to deepen cooperation to ensure the region was free from "coercion", a thinly veiled swipe at China's economic and military expansion.
During a historic visit to Fiji last week, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken also announced that the US was pursuing deeper engagement plans with Pacific nations, and unveiled a raft of new strategies.
Manuta will also co-chair one of three ministerial roundtables at the Paris forum, discussing global issues, including climate, biodiversity, health, and oceans.
Among those discussions will be the Russia-Ukraine tensions, Mahuta said.
Today, US President Joe Biden has said he was convinced Russian President Vladimir Putin had decided to launch an invasion of Ukraine, and that an assault could happen in the "coming days".
Earlier this week, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade warned that the Ukraine crisis was one of the most significant risks to international peace and security since the end of the Cold War.
London
Mahuta will then visit London, where she is scheduled to meet with the UK's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Liz Truss.
"The United Kingdom and Aotearoa New Zealand enjoy a strong relationship built on warm people-to-people connections, deepening economic and geo-political links and, of course, a unique shared history based on mutual respect as embodied in Te Tiriti o Waitangi," Mahuta said.
"My meeting with Secretary Truss will provide a good opportunity for us to discuss opportunities to deepen ties with one of our closest partners."
She said New Zealand's free trade agreement with the UK would also be a focus of the London trip.
United Nations Human Rights Council
Mahuta will also head to Geneva where she is expected to meet leaders from UN and multilateral organisations.
She is also due to speak at the UN Human Rights Council, which will be the first time a Minister of Foreign Affairs from Aotearoa has spoken at the council since its creation in 2006.
"I look forward to engaging at the Human Rights Council and, in particular, delivering Aotearoa New Zealand's statement setting out our country's human rights priorities on the opening day of the council session," Mahuta said.
The foreign minister will finish her trip on 2 March, after which she will return to MIQ and comply with the Covid-19 requirements for returnees.
-RNZ / Reuters