Wonderful sight: Ahmad Zahid’s five-day working visit to New Zealand includes Auckland as one of its destinations. — Bernama
AUCKLAND: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s working visit to New Zealand is set to chart a new course in strengthening bilateral ties.
Malaysian High Commissioner to New Zealand Mazita Marzuki described the five-day working visit from today until July 18 as apt and timely.
“The visit is very timely as New Zealand is pivoting its economic trajectory towards Asean.
“The Deputy Prime Minister’s visit is not only apt with regard to Malaysia’s aspirations but also with that of New Zealand,” she said in a press conference here yesterday.
Ahmad Zahid will be accompanied by state executive councillors from Melaka, Johor, Pahang and Selangor as well as senior ministry officers.
Mazita noted that Ahmad Zahid’s trip follows the visit by New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to Malaysia in September last year.
She added that bilateral follow-up talks between Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan and his New Zealand counterpart Winston Peters were also held recently on the sidelines of the 58th Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Kuala Lumpur.
“The visit by the Deputy Prime Minister symbolises the continuity of high-level reciprocal visits between the two nations,” she said.
Mazita added that Ahmad Zahid will meet his New Zealand counterpart David Seymour and New Zealand’s Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro during his visit.
The Deputy Prime Minister will also be meeting several other ministers, including New Zealand’s Agriculture, Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay and Maori Development Minister Tama Potaka.
Ahmad Zahid, who is also the Halal Industry Development Council chairman, will attend the Halal Forum organised by New Zealand’s Primary Industries Ministry, according to Mazita.
“The Deputy Prime Minister will also witness the signing of a document of cooperation between Malaysia and New Zealand on higher education,” she added.
She said Ahmad Zahid will also hold an engagement session with captains of industries and businesses, including the Asean New Zealand Business Council and the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise.
Besides that, Ahmad Zahid, who also chairs the Central Disaster Management Committee, will make a visit to New Zealand’s National Crisis Management Centre.
“The Deputy Prime Minister, who is also Rural and Regional Development Minister, will hold a roundtable session with the Maori community in Rotorua,” Mazita said, adding that he is also expected to meet with 250 Malaysians living in New Zealand during his visit to Wellington.
Malaysia and New Zealand have shared close bilateral ties for 68 years and there are currently about 18,000 Malaysians living and studying here.
The last high-ranking visit to New Zealand was by the late former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi between March 30 and April 1, 2005, aimed at boosting two-way economic links between the two countries.
