Secretary-General to visit New Zealand

26 March 2018
News

Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland will meet New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern when she visits the country on her first official visit.

Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland will meet New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern when she visits the country on her first official visit.

During her visit to Wellington, Secretary-General Scotland will also meet the deputy prime minister, government ministers, the leader of the opposition, the speaker of the House of Representatives, high commissioners and Commonwealth civil society groups.

“As a member of Asia–Pacific Economic Cooperation, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Pacific Community, Pacific Islands Forum, United Nations and World Trade Organisation, New Zealand is a valued member of the Commonwealth family,” said the Secretary-General. “This is a chance for me to hear from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, and others, to find out how we can collaborate for the benefit of the Commonwealth.”

New Zealand was a founder member of the Commonwealth in 1931 when its independence was recognised under the Statute of Westminster.

The Secretary-General will also update Prime Minister Ardern on next month’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), discuss the Commonwealth Advantage, the Blue Economy and the Commonwealth Blue Charter.

 

Note to editors

To arrange interviews with Commonwealth Secretary-General Scotland please email Barnie Choudhury at [email protected]