NZ trade minister in Saudi blunder
New Zealand's Trade Minister is bound for Saudi Arabia on a controversial trade mission later this week, but isn't sure why he is going.
Damien O'Connor will visit the United Kingdom, Belgium, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia on a fortnight-long trip beginning on Sunday.
In Europe, he will progress trade deals with the UK, which has been agreed in-principle, and the European Union, still a work in progress.
En route home, Mr O'Connor will head to two Middle Eastern nations with questionable human rights records.
Asked whether he expected to encounter criticism for going to Saudi Arabia, Mr O'Connor said it was important to thank countries involved in last year's airlift of New Zealand nationals from Afghanistan.
"We have to acknowledge and thank them for their efforts that they have made to help us with extraction of people," he said.
However, as Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials made clear after his comments, Saudi Arabia wasn't involved in the airlift: it was neighbouring states Qatar and UAE.
And in any case, Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta has already visited the Gulf states to thank them for acting as intermediary nations for hundreds of New Zealanders seeking to flee Afghanistan as the Taliban re-established control.
The blunder is not Mr O'Connor's first.
Last year, he said Australia should "show respect" to China and would be more successful in trading with the superpower if it followed New Zealand's lead.
Mr O'Connor said Saudi Arabia's human rights record would not deter his trip.
"There are always issues that are raised and I'm sure they will come up but they won't be a barrier to what is a regular ministerial engagement," he said.
The minister's official itinerary in Riyadh includes a joint UAE-NZ ministerial meeting, the first since 2018, and a meeting with the secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
New Zealand started talks with the GCC - consisting of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain - back in 2007 over a free trade deal, but the discussions are yet to bear fruit.
New Zealand exported goods and services including dairy and meat worth $NZ2 billion ($A1.85 billion) in 2017 to the region, making it NZ's eighth largest trading partner.
The trip will precede a visit by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to the UK and Europe later this year as New Zealand seeks to remove barriers to trade.
"New Zealand is a trading nation (and) our trade agenda has very good momentum," Mr O'Connor said.
"We are now reconnecting with a post-COVID world and unlocking opportunities that will drive our economic recovery from the pandemic."
In Europe, he will progress trade deals with the UK, which has been agreed in-principle, and the European Union, still a work in progress.
En route home, Mr O'Connor will head to two Middle Eastern nations with questionable human rights records.
Asked whether he expected to encounter criticism for going to Saudi Arabia, Mr O'Connor said it was important to thank countries involved in last year's airlift of New Zealand nationals from Afghanistan.
"We have to acknowledge and thank them for their efforts that they have made to help us with extraction of people," he said.
However, as Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials made clear after his comments, Saudi Arabia wasn't involved in the airlift: it was neighbouring states Qatar and UAE.
And in any case, Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta has already visited the Gulf states to thank them for acting as intermediary nations for hundreds of New Zealanders seeking to flee Afghanistan as the Taliban re-established control.
The blunder is not Mr O'Connor's first.
Last year, he said Australia should "show respect" to China and would be more successful in trading with the superpower if it followed New Zealand's lead.
Mr O'Connor said Saudi Arabia's human rights record would not deter his trip.
"There are always issues that are raised and I'm sure they will come up but they won't be a barrier to what is a regular ministerial engagement," he said.
The minister's official itinerary in Riyadh includes a joint UAE-NZ ministerial meeting, the first since 2018, and a meeting with the secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
New Zealand started talks with the GCC - consisting of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain - back in 2007 over a free trade deal, but the discussions are yet to bear fruit.
New Zealand exported goods and services including dairy and meat worth $NZ2 billion ($A1.85 billion) in 2017 to the region, making it NZ's eighth largest trading partner.
The trip will precede a visit by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to the UK and Europe later this year as New Zealand seeks to remove barriers to trade.
"New Zealand is a trading nation (and) our trade agenda has very good momentum," Mr O'Connor said.
"We are now reconnecting with a post-COVID world and unlocking opportunities that will drive our economic recovery from the pandemic."
