Hon Nathan Guy
Minister for Primary Industries

22 October 2013 Media Statement

New Indonesian posting to boost MPI presence in Asia

Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy has welcomed the creation of a new position for an agricultural counsellor in the New Zealand Embassy in Jakarta.

“This is in recognition of the growing importance of the bilateral relationship with Indonesia. It is a further step by the Ministry for Primary Industries to increase its presence in Asian markets and provide in-market support for exporters.

“As announced earlier this year, MPI is also putting more staff into China by the end of the year and is doubling its market access team in Wellington from 8 to 16.

“This position in Jakarta has been established in response to the growing interest in trade between New Zealand and Indonesia. Agricultural trade currently makes up over two thirds of New Zealand’s exports to Indonesia.

“Indonesia is a growing and prosperous nation of 248 million people. Based in Jakarta, the agricultural counsellor will give access to the wider South East Asian region, home to a further 350 million people.

“Earlier this year the New Zealand Government announced the ‘NZ Inc ASEAN Strategy’, setting out some ambitious goals for this part of the world – including boosting our exports to the region by 40 per cent by the end of 2017.”

New Zealand is currently preparing for the 2nd annual meeting of the Agriculture Working Group under the Indonesia-New Zealand Memorandum of Understanding on Agricultural Cooperation. This is to be held in Wellington on 14 November.

New Zealand will also be hosting a study tour for Indonesian officials, and representatives from the farming community, the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB), a prominent Indonesian university for agricultural studies.

“This provides an excellent opportunity to share New Zealand’s agricultural expertise, while at the same time building important links for New Zealand agriculture,” says Mr Guy.

ENDS

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