NZ delegation to meet Washington heavyweights

Media release – 19 April

NZ business delegation to meet Washington heavyweights

Tomorrow night’s opening of the US NZ Partnership Forum in Washington DC will be an unprecedented gathering of business, government and academic leaders from both counties, says NZ US Council Executive Director Stephen Jacobi. (Subs the opening is Friday 21 April at 10 am NZ time)

“New Zealand has pockets of very strong support in Washington, in Congress and the Administration and in senior levels of business. We have a leading New Zealand delegation and I’m looking forward to a quality exchange,” Mr Jacobi said.

The forum, which takes place over 20 – 22 April, has been organised by the New Zealand United States Council and its Washington based counterpart, the United States New Zealand Council.

John Mullen, President of the US NZ Council said the 30-plus representatives from US Government, business and the academic community were a good mix of influential commercial and government figures. Delegates were largely drawn from the Council’s US membership base which includes major corporates as well as individuals with personal interests in New Zealand.

“The American participants are already aware of the importance of links with New Zealand and they are looking for ways to expand the relationship even further,” he said.

US representatives include senior executives from Boeing, Citigroup, Disney, EDS, TimeWarner and Weyerhaeuser as well as the Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers, Dairy Farmers of America and the Food Products Association. Members of the Bush Administration who will participate include Hon Frank Lavin, Under Secretary for International Trade at the Department of Commerce, Hon Paula Dobriansky, Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs and Hon Chris Hill, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific. (Full list follows).

The Forum’s agenda focuses on identifying changes in the Asia Pacific region and opportunities there for NZ and US business as well as considering where to next with the WTO and free trade agreements. Discussion will also take in the similar challenges faced by business in both countries – in energy and in meeting new international security requirements.

Hon Phil Goff, Minister of Trade and Minister of Defence, will address the Forum as will Dr Don Brash, Leader of the National Party, who is visiting Washington.

The event will conclude with luncheon at the New Zealand Embassy on Saturday 22 April (Sunday 23 April at 4.30 am NZ time). US Ambassador to New Zealand Bill McCormick and the New Zealand Ambassador, Roy Ferguson will deliver some closing remarks. Forum Co-Chair the former Senator George Mitchell will also speak at this event.

The NZ US Council acknowledges the support and assistance of Air New Zealand, Fedex, Fonterra, Meat and Wool New Zealand, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in making this event possible.

A full list of the New Zealand delegation can be viewed at: www.nzuscouncil.com/index.php/news/release/washington

ENDS

Note Washington DC time is 16 hours behind NZ

US delegation:

1. Hon. Clayton Yeutter, Senior Advisor Hogan & Hartson, former Secretary of Agriculture and U.S. Trade Representative
2. Hon. George Mitchell, Partner DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary, Board Chairman, Walt Disney Company, Board of Directors, Staples, Inc., Chancellor, The Queen’s University of Northern Ireland, former Senator from Maine
3. Hon. Paula Dobriansky, U.S. Under Secretary of Democracy and Global Affairs
4. Hon. Frank Lavin, U.S. Under Secretary for International Trade, former Ambassador to the Republic of Singapore and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Asia and the Pacific
5. Hon. William McCormick, U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa
6. Hon. Christopher Hill, Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, former Ambassador to Poland, the Republic of Macedonia and Special Envoy to Kosovo
7. Hon. Calvin Dooley, President and CEO of the Food Products Association, former member of the U.S. House of Representatives (D-CA)
8. Hon. Jennifer Dunn, Senior Advisor at Piper Rudnick Grey Cary, former member of the U.S House of Representatives (R-WA)
9. Hon. Steven Solarz, President, Solarz Associates and Senior Strategist, APCO Worldwide, former member of the U.S House of Representatives (D-NY)
10. Hon. Peter Watson, President &CEO of the Dwight Group, former Chairman and CEO, Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC)
11. Hon. Paul Cleveland, Chairman of the US-NZ Council, former U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand and Malaysia
12. Kurt Campbell, Senior Vice President for International Security at CSIS, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asia and the Pacific, Director on NSC staff, and counselor to President Clinton on NAFTA
13. Michael Green, Senior Advisor and Japan Chair at CSIS and Associate Professor of International Relations at Georgetown University, former Senior Director for Asian Affairs at the NSC under President George W. Bush
14. C. Fred Bergsten, Director of the Institute for International Economics
15. Michael H. Jordan, Chairman of the Board and CEO of EDS
16. Michael Eckhart, President of Solar International Management Inc, and President of the American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE)
17. John Mullen, President of the US-NZ Council and Managing Director, GlobalNet Financial Solutions
18. Fred Benson, Vice Chairman of the US-NZ Council
19. John Veroneau, Partner, DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary, former General Counsel, USTR
20. Stan Roth, Vice-President for Asia/International Relations, Boeing, former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
21. Keith Thomson, Assistant Commissioner, Office of International Affairs, U.S. Customs
22. Eduardo Salazar, Senior Vice President, Head of Corporate Banking, National Australia Bank, New York
23. Ernie Bower, Partner, Brooks Bower Asia, former Executive Director, US-ASEAN Business Council
24. Ian Firth, Director of Marketing & Sales, Weyerhaeuser Forest Products International
25. Tom Donohue, President and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
26. Myron Brilliant, Vice President, Asia, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
27. Ann Martindell, former US Ambassador to New Zealand and Chair Emeritus, US-NZ Council
28. Dorothy Dwoskin, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for WTO & Multilateral Affairs
29. Wendy Cutler, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Japan, Korea, & APEC Affairs
30. Clyde Rutherford, _Chairman & President, Dairylea, a US Dairy Cooperative; Board of Directors, Dairy Farmers of America and the National Milk Producers Federation
31. Kathleen Stephens, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs
32. Jeri Jensen*, Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific and Pharmaceutical Policy
33. Michael Andrews, Vice President and Director of International Business Affairs and International Government Affairs, Citigroup
34. Hon. Doris Meissner*, Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, former commissioner of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)
35. Iain Stewart, Senior Vice President & Country Manager, Westpac International Bank
36. Hon. Richard Teare, former U.S. Ambassador to Papua New Guinea and head of the Center of Australian and New Zealand Studies at Georgetown University
37. Laura Lane*, Vice President, Public Policy, Time Warner
38. Ed Farrell*, Partner, Blank Rome
39. Bert Peña*, Partner, Hunton & Williams
40. Joe Snyder*, Executive Director, Asia Society
41. Simon Leeming*, Partner, Preti Flaherty
42. Bill Sweeney*, Vice President, Global Government Affairs, EDS
43. Mark Orr*, Vice President, North American Affairs, Pernod Ricard USA
44. Dr. Raymond Albright*, Managing Director GlobalNet Financial Solutions, former Senior Vice President, Export-Import Bank of the United States.
45. Linda Dooley*, President, The Bryce Harlow Foundation
46. Kate Clemans*, Director, C & M International
47. Simon Tucker*, Vice President of Government Relations and Trade, North America, Fonterra USA
48. Kelvin Whall*, Manager, North America, Meat & Wool New Zealand
49. John Webb*, New Zealand Steel

* Observers

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