Nanaia Mahuta to attend NATO meeting in Brussels this week

April 2, 2023
Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta.

Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta is set to attend a NATO meeting in Brussels this week.

She is leaving for Europe today, where she will represent Aotearoa at the NATO foreign ministers meeting, before travelling to Sweden for a short bilateral visit.

“NATO is a long-standing and likeminded partner for Aotearoa New Zealand.

"It is valuable to join a session of this meeting in person, to express our ongoing condemnation of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine one year on, and as NATO and New Zealand work to renew our formal partnership this year,” Mahuta said.

The minister's trip comes after former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern went to the NATO Summit in Madrid last year, a first for a New Zealand leader.

“It is important that we continue to engage with our close partners to address shared security challenges, many of which are global in nature with wide-ranging implications, including in the Pacific.

“The visit will also provide the opportunity to hold bilateral calls with a number of my counterparts from the NATO allies and our other close partners,” Mahuta said.

Following two days in Brussels, the minister will spend two days in Stockholm meeting with Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström.

“Sweden is the current president of the EU, and one of New Zealand’s closest European partners whose strong support helped enable the successful negotiation of the NZ-EU Free trade agreement."

While in Stockholm, she will also meet with Sámi representatives, including the President of the Swedish Sámi Parliament Plenary Assembly, Daniel Holst Vinka.

“As indigenous peoples, Māori and Sámi share many interests and already work together on a number of challenges on the international stage. This is an opportunity to deepen these connections,” she said.

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