- Rt Hon Winston Peters
Foreign Minister Winston Peters today wrapped up a week of high-level engagements at the United Nations in New York and in Papeete, French Polynesia.
"Our visit to New York was about demonstrating New Zealand's unwavering support for an international system based on rules and respect for the UN Charter, as articulated by then Prime Minister Peter Fraser at the UN's founding on behalf of New Zealand people," Mr Peters says.
"The UN Security Council remains at the centre of the international peace and security system. Our bid for a seat on the Security Council for the 2039-40 term is both important and necessary. As a small state and country of the Pacific, we look forward to again bringing a constructive voice to the top table."
While in New York, Mr Peters also engaged in several high-level meetings and held talks with a range of counterparts, including from Iceland, Italy, Jordan, Egypt, Netherlands, Costa Rica, Sweden, Kiribati, Maldives, Palestinian Authority, and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
"Our talks in Papeete today with President Moetai Brotherson, French High Commissioner Dominique Sorain, former Presidents Édouard Fritch and Oscar Temaru, Members of Parliament, and business leaders reinforced the warm and enduring relationships between New Zealand, French Polynesia and France", Mr Peters says.
Mr Peters is aiming to visit all 17 other Pacific Islands Forum countries in 2024. French Polynesia was the 15th he visited, leaving only New Caledonia and Kiribati to go.
Mr Peters returns to New Zealand later today.
