Media Releases
NZ US Council welcomes Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
14 January 2010
The NZ US Council is pleased to welcome the United States Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, to New Zealand.
Secretary Clinton will be guest of honour at a reception hosted by the NZ US Council and the American Chamber of Commerce in Auckland on Friday 15 January. The reception will be attended by around 200 New Zealanders prominent in business and the community.
“Secretary Clinton is visiting a year since the Obama Administration took office and at a time when the relationship with the United States is as close as ever. New Zealand needs to be actively engaged with the United States to make progress on international issues we care deeply about. The Secretary’s visit provides an important opportunity for discussion of a range of issues important to New Zealand including security, trade, development and the environment” said NZ US Council Executive Director Stephen Jacobi.
Mr Jacobi said the third US NZ Partnership Forum meeting held in Washington DC in October 2009 had shown that the door was open to further expansion of the relationship.
“The relationship with the United States has been taken to a whole new level over the past five years. The recent Partnership Forum in Washington showed that the Obama Administration is looking to co-operate with New Zealand in a number of areas. Since then the Administration has confirmed participation in trade negotiations under the Trans Pacific Partnership. Now the Secretary’s visit is a further sign of increasing co-operation in foreign policy. The visit reinforces New Zealand’s credentials as a close partner of the United States and is positive for New Zealand interests” said Mr Jacobi.
