New Zealand holds Commemorative Summit with ASEAN Leaders

New Zealand's Ambassador to Indonesia, Mr David Taylor, and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon Murray McCully with the ASEAN Committee of Permanent Representatives

New Zealand held a Commemorative Summit with ASEAN Leaders last week in Ha Noi, celebrating 35 years of partnership.

In the lead up to this historic event, the New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs visited the ASEAN Secretariat and met with both the ASEAN Secretary-General, Mr Surin Pitsuwan, and the ASEAN Committee of Permanent Representatives (CPR) during a bilateral visit to Indonesia, 19-20 October.

Mr McCully and Secretary-General Pitsuwan discussed the deepening ties between ASEAN and New Zealand. The Secretary-General welcomed the four flagship initiatives announced by Mr McCully in July, including new scholarships programme which he indicated would be a “very important programme” for ASEAN, and which represented New Zealand’s biggest education investment since the Colombo Plan.

The ASEAN Committee of Permanent Representatives provided a warm welcome to Minister McCully and observed that he was the first Foreign Minister from any Dialogue Partner country to visit the CPR at the Secretariat, which they hoped would set a precedent.

Each of the ten ASEAN Permanent Representatives spoke to the Minister about their countries’ ambitions for ASEAN and the partnership with New Zealand. They expressed appreciation for the support New Zealand had provided for ASEAN’s development over the last 35 years, and looked forward to even closer and deeper cooperation in future.

Mr McCully reaffirmed the New Zealand Government’s commitment to strengthening ties with ASEAN even further, and thanked the CPR for their tireless efforts in Jakarta towards this goal.