Foreign Affairs Minister and Under-Secretary to visit Vanuatu

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs Fletcher Tabuteau will travel to Vanuatu tomorrow to undertake a range of bilateral meetings.

Mr Peters and Mr Tabuteau will call on President Moses Tallis, Prime Minister Charlot Salwai, Foreign Minister Ralph Regenvanu, Minister of Internal Affairs Andrew Napuat, and other Cabinet ministers.

“This is our first visit to Melanesia since announcing the Pacific Reset,” says Mr Peters.

“We are looking forward to discussing how New Zealand and Vanuatu can work more closely together as Pacific partners.

“This is also a great opportunity to meet with a range of government representatives and establish important connections with the Government of Vanuatu, ahead of the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting in Nauru,” he says.

Mr Tabuteau notes the strength of the relationship between the two countries.

“Due to the demand for labour in the New Zealand provincial economies, New Zealand and Vanuatu have strong connections through people-to-people links. Just under 4,500 ni-Vanuatu workers come to New Zealand each year to support our horticulture and viticulture industries,” Mr Tabuteau says.

“By working in partnership with our Pacific neighbours we can help address the big issues of our time such as climate change and disaster resilience.”

Mr Peters and Mr Tabuteau will be in Vanuatu 23-25 August.

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