New Zealand PM To Attend East Asia Summit In Kuala Lumpur

By Nur Ashikin Abdul Aziz KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 9 (Bernama) -- New Zealand Prime Minister John Key will be in Kuala Lumpur from Nov 20 to 22 to attend the East Asia Summit, which will focus on regional political, security and economic issues. He is also scheduled to attend the ASEAN-New Zealand Commemorative Summit that marks the 40th anniversary of relations between the two countries, according to a statement issued by the New Zealand government on its official website. The East Asia Summit and the ASEAN-New Zealand Commemorative Summit are among the related meetings to be held during the 27th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur from Nov 18 to 22. The meetings, hosted by ASEAN chair Malaysia, are spearheaded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. New Zealand became ASEAN's dialogue partner in 1975. Along with Australia and Japan, the country was among the first dialogue partners to hold a summit with ASEAN in 1977. Before coming to Malaysia, Key is scheduled to travel to Vietnam and the Philippines for a series of meetings aimed at boosting New Zealand's trade, political and security links in the region. Key would lead a trade delegation to Hanoi from Nov 14 to 17 where he would meet with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Tan Dung and other ministers. He would also attend a number of events focused on boosting bilateral trade. “Vietnam is New Zealand’s fastest-growing export market in Southeast Asia, with two-way trade now worth over US$1 billion a year and we have committed to doubling that by 2020. “New Zealand has a lot to offer Vietnam and its people and this visit will be an opportunity to further explore new trade and investment opportunities which offer huge potential to both countries," Key said in the statement. In Manila, from Nov 17 to 20, Key would attend the APEC leaders' meeting and address the APEC CEO Summit, which will be attended by 700 CEOs from across the region. “The Asia-Pacific region is a significant driver of global economic growth with massive demand for New Zealand products - around 70 per cent of our total trade now takes place with APEC economies alone. “It is important we continue to build on those ties and create new opportunities to further diversify and strengthen our economy for the benefit of all New Zealanders,” Key said in the statement. -- BERNAMA