New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark will travel to Japan and South Korea in May for meetings with the leaders of both countries to promote closer bilateral and regional co-operation, the Prime Minister's Office announced on Friday.
Clark will also address major business forums in the two countries.
Clark will meet with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and other senior members of the Japanese Cabinet on May 14.
"Japan remains New Zealand's third largest export market. With two-way trade of 7.3 billion NZ dollars (5.7 billion U.S. dollars),the economic links with Japan are valued highly," Clark said in a statement.
"This visit provides an opportunity to reaffirm the importance New Zealand places on maintaining close relations with Japan, and the need to work together to strengthen our co-operation further. A particular focus in both Japan and Korea will be how we can work together for good outcomes from the East Asia Summit in December," she added.
Clark will give a keynote address at the inaugural Japan New Zealand Partnership Forum.
Clark will travel to South Korea to meet with newly elected President Lee Myung-bak, and senior ministers on May 16.
The two-way trading relationship between New Zealand and South Korea is worth over 2.4 billion NZ dollars and South Korea is New Zealand's 6th biggest export market.
"New Zealand is also firmly committed to the stability of the Korean Peninsula. This is a useful opportunity to convey to the new Korean leadership New Zealand's support for the Six Party Talks process and the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," Clark said.
Source: Xinhua
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