McClay to attend ADB Annual Meeting in Kazakhstan

Revenue and Associate Tourism Minister Todd McClay today leaves for Kazakhstan to attend the Asian Development Bank’s Annual Meeting, the OECD Ministerial Council meeting in Paris, and tourism meetings in London.

The Annual Meeting is the major annual engagement New Zealand has with the ADB. New Zealand contributes to the Bank’s Ordinary Capital Reserves, which is reflected by our shareholding with the Bank.

New Zealand is also a regional donor country to the Asian Development Fund, which the ADB uses for concessional lending programs and additional funding for other projects that New Zealand partners with the ADB to deliver, particularly around the Pacific.

Mr McClay will have a number of bilateral meetings, including with the ADB President, Takehiko Nakao, Australian Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, Steven Ciobo, and the head of the Chinese delegation.

“I have also been invited to participate in a session around disaster resilience in the Asia-Pacific region and share New Zealand’s experiences in dealing with our recent natural disasters,” says Mr McClay.

In Paris, Mr McClay will attend the OECD Ministerial Council meeting and meet with Pascal Saint-Amans, Director of the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, to discuss BEPS and information exchange issues.

“BEPS and the automatic exchange of information are key global tax issues that require a high degree of international cooperation and understanding. The OECD is at the forefront in dealing with these issues, so meeting with Mr Saint-Amans will be invaluable,” says Mr McClay.

Mr McClay will then travel on to London for a number of tourism engagements including with key New Zealand tourism partners and representatives from VisitBritain and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.