Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to South East Asia next week.

“South East Asia is critical to maintaining and building New Zealand’s security and prosperity,” Mr Peters says.

“My travel to the region is a further demonstration of the Coalition Government’s strong commitment to boosting New Zealand’s engagement with South East Asia.”

Mr Peters leaves for the region on Tuesday 4 June, and will visit:

• Viet Nam (5-6 June), meeting Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son, and Chairman of Central Commission for External Relations Le Hoai Trung.
• Malaysia (7–8 June), meeting Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and holding the inaugural Foreign Ministers Meeting under the New Zealand-Malaysia Strategic Partnership.
• Philippines (9-10 June), meeting with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo.
• Timor-Leste (11-12 June), meeting President José Ramos-Horta and other members with Timor-Leste’s political leadership. This will be the first visit to Timor-Leste by a New Zealand Foreign Minister in over a decade.

Mr Peters will arrive back in New Zealand on 13 June.

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