McCully to visit Europe and Asia

Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully will depart today on a two-and-a-half week trip through Europe and Asia.

Mr McCully’s programme includes discussions with his counterparts in Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and France, as well as meetings with key officials from the European Union.

Following the European leg of the trip, Mr McCully will attend the Asia-Europe (ASEM) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in New Delhi, India, and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

“The ASEM meeting is an important forum for discussing issues affecting European and Asian states and strengthening the relationship between the two regions,” Mr McCully says.

“CHOGM sets the Commonwealth’s agenda for the coming two years, and with 53 member states home to more than 2 billion people, a number of significant global issues will be up for discussion.

“While in Sri Lanka I plan to travel to the predominantly Tamil northern region to see firsthand what life is like for civilians following the end of the decades-long civil war in 2009.

“New Zealand has a strong interest in the progress being made on reconciliation and devolution in the north and I will report back to the Prime Minister on the situation there ahead of the CHOGM Leader’s Retreat.”