Hon Murray McCully

Minister of Foreign Affairs

19 September 2010

Media Statement

McCully Heads To United Nations General Assembly

Foreign Minister Murray McCully heads to New York tonight to attend the opening of the United General Assembly, and to take part in a range of associated events and meetings.

Among the associated events is a summit that aims to accelerate progress on achieving the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. The goals are the world’s blueprint to eradicate hunger and poverty, and include concrete targets to reduce preventable deaths from childbirth, starvation, bad water, or childhood diseases.

Despite a reduction in poverty levels of the world’s poorest countries, progress on achieving the MDGs has stalled in a number of countries, and next week's summit aims to get things back on track.

Mr McCully will also attend a High-Level Meeting to review the Mauritius Strategy on sustainable development of small islands developing states -- an important meeting for vulnerable islands in the Pacific -- as well as two Commonwealth meetings; disarmament and biodiversity-related summits, and a special high-level meeting of the United Nations Security Council.

In 2014, New Zealand will be standing in elections for a two-year term as a non-permanent member of the Security Council.

Mr McCully will also have a number of bilateral meetings with Ministerial counterparts, and will join Rugby World Cup Ambassador David Kirk at a promotional reception in New York.

ENDS

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