PM to lead delegation to Australia in July; trips further afield likely
WELLINGTON: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will lead a business delegation to Australia in July in a bid to ‘‘further strengthen business ties with our transtasman partners’’.
It will be her first overseas trip since the Covid19 pandemic began early last year.
And she also teased trips to the United States and China — but not until borders reopen.
‘‘With a change of administration there, and a deepening relationship with President Joe Biden across a range of issues, I intend to actively pursue an enhanced trade relationship with the US over the coming term.’’
Speaking to a business audience in Auckland, Ms Ardern also announced that Trade Minister Damien O’Connor would be jetsetting soon.
He will travel to London and Brussels to progress negotiations for New Zealand’s freetrade agreements with the UK and EU next month.
As with all returning New Zealanders, Mr O’Connor will undertake 14 days of MIQ upon return, and will be vaccinated ahead of departure.
Ms Ardern did not say whether or not she would be vaccinated ahead of her trip.
But she did confirm that when New Zealand’s key trading partners look to reopen their borders, ‘‘I will look to lead delegations into Europe, the United States, China and the wider AsiaPacific’’.
‘‘These trips may not have been overly notable preCovid, but they are hugely significant in light of the domestic realities we’ve been experiencing, and the global ones that still persist.’’
In her speech, she also touched on what a postvaccinated New Zealand may look like.
‘‘The first question we are asking is: do we need to have completed our vaccine rollout in order to open up our borders beyond the bubble arrangements we already have?
‘‘Will people who’ve been vaccinated in other countries be able to come in even if we haven’t finished our vaccine rollout? The answer is — possibly.’’
But she said there were a number of things to consider.
‘‘We will be relying heavily on emerging evidence about how effective vaccines are in preventing not just symptoms of the disease, but transmission between vaccinated individuals.’’— The New Zealand Herald