Governor-General of New Zealand Anand Satyanand will make his first visit to Tokelau next week, said his office Wednesday.
This will be the second of three visits that the Governor- General will make this year to the Pacific Island countries that are part of the Realm of New Zealand, following his visit to Niue in April and preceding a visit to the Cook Islands later this year.
The visit will reaffirm the relationship of the Governor- General to Tokelau in its current capacity as a dependent territory within the Realm of New Zealand and reinforce the special ties that exist between New Zealand and Tokelau.
The Governor-General's office said the visit takes place at an important time in the history of New Zealand/Tokelau relations. In October, the voters on Tokelau will once again be asked to decide whether it should move from being a dependency of New Zealand to the status of 'self-governing in free association with New Zealand '.
The first referendum on this issue in February 2006 narrowly failed to reach the two-thirds threshold that Tokelau had set for making such a change.
The Governor-General said New Zealand and Tokelau would continue to have a strong relationship regardless of the referendum outcome.
"As Governor-General of Tokelau, this visit provides an important opportunity to reaffirm to the people of Tokelau the strong and clear commitment New Zealand has for Tokelau's well- being and long-term development," said the Governor-General.
Three far-flung coral atolls - Atafu, Nukunonu and Fakaofo - make up Tokelau, a Polynesian territory of New Zealand in the South Pacific.
Lying between New Zealand and Hawaii, Tokelau has few physical links with the wider world. There is no airport and it takes more than a day at sea to reach its southern neighbor Samoa.
Source: Xinhua
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