8 April 2001

Prime Minister Helen Clark announced today that the President of Germany, Johannes Rau, will visit New Zealand from 6 to 9 May.

“Germany is an economic powerhouse whose trading and other relationships with New Zealand are significant.

"Germany is New Zealand’s second largest trading partner in the European Union, buying nearly $700 million worth of New Zealand exports each year and selling us more than $1 billion worth of their exports in return.

"President Rau will be accompanied by his wife, Christina Rau, and a delegation of about sixty people, including members of parliament and senior officials from the German government.

"He will visit Auckland and Wellington and will be accompanied to Queenstown by the Deputy Prime Minister, Jim Anderton.

"President Rau will meet some of the New Zealand exporters who trade with Germany.

"While President Rau is in Wellington, he will attend a state dinner in his honour, hosted by the Governor General, in addition to a state lunch at the Beehive, hosted by me," Helen Clark said.

Ends

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

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