Hon Gerry Brownlee
Minister of Foreign Affairs
5 August 2017

Media Statement

Minister attending regional security meetings

Foreign Minister Gerry Brownlee will today arrive in Manila to meet with his Asia-Pacific counterparts.

From August 5 to 8, Mr Brownlee will attend ASEAN-New Zealand Ministerial consultations, the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum.

He will also join celebrations to mark the 50th Anniversary of the establishment of ASEAN.

“ASEAN is a collective of states that aims to accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region as well as promoting stability and peace,” Mr Brownlee says.

“New Zealand is ASEAN’s second oldest dialogue partner, and has significant political and economic links to the region. ASEAN is also our second fastest-growing trading relationship.

The meetings will be attended by Ministers from the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries – Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam.

Ministers from Australia, China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, Russia, and the United States will also be in attendance.

“ASEAN plays a key role in the region’s security and both the East Asia Summit and the ASEAN Regional Forum work to address the challenges we collectively face.

“Discussions this year will focus on counter-terrorism, the Korean Peninsula, cyber security, and maritime issues,” Mr Brownlee says.

Notes to editors:

· In 1975, New Zealand became ASEAN second dialogue partner. Australia was first in 1974.

· In 1994 and 2005 we were founding members of the ASEAN Regional Forum and the East Asia Summit respectively.

· The establishment of ASEAN followed about 25 years of conflict and instability in the region and has been succeeded by peaceful relations between members and economic growth well above global averages.

ASEAN facts:

· In 2015, the ASEAN economy was the sixth-largest in the world

· Collectively, the ASEAN population is the third-largest in the world, after China and India.

· More than half of the ASEAN population is under 30.

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