Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend.

“This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says.

Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign Ministers Meeting in Brussels and undertake bilateral visits to Egypt, Poland, and Sweden.

"Since taking office late last year, the Coalition Government has emphasised the importance we place on New Zealand's traditional security partners," Mr Peters says.

"New Zealand can only protect and advance our interests by working with traditional partners with whom we have a shared strategic assessment of the challenges the world faces. This visit, including through my attendance at the NATO Foreign Ministers Meeting, will progress those traditional partnerships."

The urgent humanitarian situation in Gaza will also be a focus of the Minister's upcoming travel.

"New Zealand is part of an overwhelming international consensus demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. This travel will allow us to share information and perspectives with a range of interested parties and coordinate on broad international action."

Mr Peters will have programmes in:

• Cairo, Egypt, 1 April, including meetings with Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gait.
• Warsaw, Poland, 2 April, including meeting with Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski and a visit to Ukraine House, a community organisation that helps Ukrainian refugees in Warsaw.
• Brussels, Belgium, 3-4 April, including attendance at the NATO Foreign Ministers Meeting, alongside counterparts from Australia, Japan, Korea and the European Union.
• Stockholm, Sweden, 5-6 April, including meeting with Foreign Minister Tobias Billström.

Minister Peters departs New Zealand for the Middle East on Saturday 30 March.

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