REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA--New Zealand Prime Minister John Key has confirmed his attendance at the APEC Summit in Bali on Oct. 7 and 8, 2013. New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully and Trade Minister Tim Groser will also join the APEC Ministerial Meetings as part of APEC Leaders week, according to a press release received in Jakarta on Thursday.
Prime Minister Key will join political leaders from 20 other APEC members to discuss trade liberalization and economic integration, as well as a range of other political and security topics, during their visit to Bali.
During the Summit Key is expected to hold bilateral meetings with other political leaders, join talks on the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), address the APEC CEOs' Summit, and speak at a tourism development conference hosted by Indonesia.
"APEC's focus on regional integration sets a constructive economic agenda in the region, while the East Asia Summit brings regional leaders together around a combined economic and security agenda," he remarked.
The APEC Summit meeting plays important role for New Zealand since 70 percent of its goods are traded with APEC members. "Our largest trading partners will be present at these summits. Around 44 percent of global trade now takes place among APEC economies, and 70 percent of New Zealand's total goods trade is done with APEC economies," he added.
After the APEC Leaders Meeting, Prime Minister Key will head to Brunei Darussalam for the East Asia Summit, which will cover a wide range of political, security-related, and economy-related topics on October 9 and 10, 2013.
APEC includes Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States, and Vietnam.
Some countries, including New Zealand, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, and Malaysia, have joined the TPP round table.