KEY POINTS:
Prime Minister Helen Clark will travel to Indonesia despite Australian warnings of a heightened security risk and her own government's advice to New Zealanders to defer tourist travel.
Miss Clark is to make an official visit to Malaysia and Indonesia from July 15-20.
The announcement of her trip
comes after the Australian Government warned of a possible attack from the al-Qaeda linked Jamaah Islamiah (JI) network.
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer today confirmed there was no specific information about a target or time for an attack but Mr Howard said the threat was serious.
Asked today whether she had reviewed her security or thought about delaying her trip because of the Australian advice, Miss Clark said she had not.
She had not seen exactly what Mr Howard had said but she said the Australian and New Zealand warnings about travelling to Indonesia were comparable.
"Australia has updated its commentary but in essence we give the same advice with respect to non-essential and tourist travel and our advice on that really hasn't changed since the Bali bombing in 2002."
New Zealand had given "very strong warnings" against tourist travel to Indonesia including to Bali.
"Our advice is to defer tourist travel to Bali."
Miss Clark said New Zealand police worked with authorities in Indonesia on security matters and she had confidence in those arrangements as far as her own travel went.
"I'm in a lot better position than a tourist embarking on a visit."
Miss Clark said the relationships with major countries in Asean were of great importance to New Zealand.
"The timing of this visit is around the 50th anniversary of New Zealand's diplomatic relationship with Malaysia and that relationship began in the year of Malaysia's independence, 1957."
Miss Clark said it had been five years since she last visited Indonesia and it had changed its president since then.
During her visits, she will meet with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, both of whom visited New Zealand in 2005.
Malaysia was among New Zealand's top 10 trading partners with two-way trade totally close to $1.7 billion.
New Zealand's annual development assistance to Indonesia was the largest in the region. Indonesia was New Zealand's 10th most important market last year, taking more than $613 million in exports.
A business delegation including people with expertise in education, information communications technology, biotechnology, agricultural research and related technology would accompany the prime minister.
- NZPA
