Elevating New Zealand - U.S. Relations to New Heights

Elevating New Zealand-U.S. Relations to New Heights

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NZ Ambassador Mike Moore

Report – By Connie Lawn and Charles Sneiderman

The dinner was hosted by Ambassador Mike Moore for members of the Asia Society. It was a Diplomatic Dialogue Dinner, which is part of the Society's Global Policy Programs.

Members of the Asia Society are very influential in the worlds of business and trade, and they know their facts. Several other organizations also served as Event Outreach Partners. They included The United States-New Zealand Council, The Australia America Association, and the UN Association of the National Capitol Area.

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Henrietta Fore, Asia Society Co-Chair

Ambassador Mike Moore talked about serious topics, but he also brought down the house at times, with his well-known self deprecating sense of humor! On the serious topics, the audience grimaced when he talked about the continuing suffering of Christchurch, in the wake of the earthquakes and thousands of aftershocks.

He talked about the importance of trade with Asia, with a special emphasis on China. These comments came on a day the White House is again pressing some trade agreements, but they are already meeting resistance from the Congress. Trade and security should be among the major topics in the upcoming APEC meetings. The Ambassador said "the bold goals of free trade are not yet happening."

But he said NZ remains an excellent business and trade environment, and the economy should again achieve a surplus by 2015. He also talked about NZ's excellent innovations for special effects films, such as those utilized in "Avatar."

The NZ Embassy in Washington is gaining an increasing reputation where serious, important events are held, intermingled with events that are great fun. It is a "go to" place which enhances the reputation of NZ, and promotes a lot of friendship and business.

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