New Zealand Week 2012 in Kuala Lumpur

New Zealand Week 2012 is being held in Kuala Lumpur from 13 – 17 February. New Zealand Week continues our two countries’ rich history of cooperation in education and science by bringing together Malaysian and New Zealand businesses, universities, and government departments during Malaysia’s ‘Year of Science’.

Kuala Lumpur Demonstration: Saturday 9 July 2011

A large demonstration in Kuala Lumpur advocating election reform (under the banner Bersih 2.0) is expected to take place on Saturday 9 July. The organisers have been persuaded to stage the rally in a stadium rather than on the streets, but have since been denied access to Merdaka Stadium and other stadiums in Kuala Lumpur. The venue for the rally has yet to be confirmed, but it is possible large numbers of demonstrators may still gather around Merdaka Stadium between 2 and 4pm. Police have outlawed Bersih 2.0 and threatened to arrest anyone showing support for it.

The CER-ASEAN Integration Partnership Forum held its first seminar in Kuala Lumpur on 25 June.

CER and ASEAN are each advancing regional integration agendas and New Zealand Prime Minister John Key and Australia Prime Minister Julia Gillard recognise that the Australia-New Zealand CER (Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement) experience – good and bad – might offer some useful insights for ASEAN as it tackles its own, highly ambitious, economic integration process.

Since CER was launched in 1983, the value of two-way merchandise trade has grown at an average annual rate of 8 percent. Integration has generated wealth and ever-deeper integration.