Nanaia Mahuta to make first trip as foreign minister

Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta will travel overseas. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta will make her first trip as foreign minister. The trip will include a trip to Washington DC, where she will meet her counterpart Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

"Aotearoa New Zealand works side by side with the United States on issues that matter to both of us, including the prosperity, security, and sustainability of the Indo-Pacific, and in particular Pacific Island countries," Mahuta said.

As well as being the first in-person meeting since the pandemic, it will also be the first meeting of ministers from both Government's since the announcement of the AUKUS security pact rocked foreign policy in the wider Indo-Pacific.

Mahuta will visit six countries - seven, if you include a transit in Singapore, where she will conduct a meeting with foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.

The trip will take in a visit to Australia, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, the United States and Canada.

It will be the first visit of any New Zealand foreign minister since the pandemic shut borders. It is also Mahuta's first trip as foreign minister, a role she has held since the last election.

"New Zealand enjoys wide-ranging relationships with many countries, and this trip is an opportunity to strengthen those ties and ensure Aotearoa New Zealand's unique perspectives are understood and taken into account in key capitals," said Mahuta said.

The first leg will include a stop in Sydney to meet Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne.

She will then travel via Singapore to Jakarta to meet her Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, and separately meet with the ASEAN Secretary General.

Mahuta's office said this will reinforce "the value Aotearoa New Zealand places on our partnership with ASEAN".

ASEAN , a grouping of South-East Asian nations, has recently come under pressure following the unprecedented move to bar Myanmar's military chief Min Aung Hlaing from a recent meeting.

Hlaing ousted the previous government in a coup, which led to a violent and deadly political crisis. He was barred after he failed to implement a peace plan he agreed with ASEAN in April.

She will then travel to the UAE to see New Zealand's exhibition at Expo 2020, and to host Te Aratini, a Festival of Indigenous and Tribal Ideas.

She will meet with UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed.

"Expo2020 provides a significant platform to demonstrate our indigenous values and trade opportunities on the world stage.

"My visit also offers the opportunity to further deepen our strong bilateral relationship with the UAE which is critical for our connectivity and supply chains and an important partner for Aotearoa New Zealand in the Middle East region," Mahuta said.

The next stop is Doha, which she will visit with New Zealand's Special Representative to Afghanistan.

She will meet her Qatari counterpart Sheik Al-Thani and thank him for Qatar's support of New Zealand's Afghan evacuation.

"The Qatari Government has been generous in supporting departures from Afghanistan and is continuing to play an important role. My visit will allow me to formally recognise and thank them for this support," Mahuta said.

From there she will travel to the US, and on to Ottawa, Canada to visit newly-appointed Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly.

She leaves on Thursday 11 November with a delegation of two. She has been fully vaccinated.

Upon return to New Zealand on 28 November, they will complete the required MIQ period which will then have been shortened to seven days.