Hon Gerry Brownlee
Minister of Defence

6 July 2015

Commander of US Pacific Command to visit

The Commander of United States Pacific Command, Admiral Harry B. Harris, will visit New Zealand this week and hold talks with the Government and senior Defence officials.

Admiral Harris flies into Wellington on a US military aircraft today and will hold talks with Prime Minister John Key, Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee, and Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully later this afternoon.

“The Government is pleased to host Admiral Harris on his visit to New Zealand,” Mr Brownlee says.

“I had the recent pleasure of meeting Admiral Harris at Singapore’s annual Shangri-La Dialogue, just days after he took up his present role, and it’s great to see the Admiral visiting here so early in his tenure.

“Admiral Harris has a long relationship with this country, having trained on a Royal New Zealand Navy patrol vessel early in his career, and I look forward to our discussion this afternoon.

“The defence relationship between New Zealand and the United States is a hugely important one, and it is in excellent shape.

“New Zealand and United States military forces regularly take part in joint operations and training activities, and that is set to continue. We work collaboratively in a number of areas, including humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in the Pacific.”

Admiral Harris is being hosted in New Zealand by the Chief of Defence Force, Lieutenant General Tim Keating.

He will hold talks with Lieutenant General Keating and Secretary of Defence Helene Quilter tomorrow, following a formal ceremonial welcome and wreath-laying ceremony at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park.

Admiral Harris will also visit Linton Military Camp. He departs New Zealand on Thursday.

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