Source: New Zealand Government
New Zealand and the five Nordic countries will deepen and intensify their cooperation, driven by common strategic assessments, values and national development aspirations, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.
“New Zealand and the Nordic countries are separated by vast oceans, but united by how we see the world, the values we wish to uphold and defend, and our desire to cooperate for mutual economic benefit,” Mr Peters says, at the conclusion of his visit to the Nordic region.
As well as undertaking bilateral visits to all five Nordic countries of Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland, Mr Peters also attended the inaugural Nordic 5-New Zealand Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Stockholm.
“Like New Zealand, the Nordic countries face their most challenging strategic environment in decades, as they unite to support Ukraine in repelling Russia’s illegal invasion,” Mr Peters says. “As we heard repeatedly, if Russia is not stopped in Ukraine, it will keep pushing further and they are already seeking to cause disruption in the Nordic and Baltic regions.
“In this context, the Nordic countries are deeply appreciative of New Zealand’s tangible contributions to help defend Ukraine. They drew comfort from New Zealand – acknowledging our great distance from the conflict – providing significant support in the common fight against Russia’s naked aggression. We also discussed the direct and indirect support that Russia’s war effort receives from certain actors in the Indo-Pacific – underlining the interconnected nature of our respective strategic environments.
“Just as New Zealand supports a stable and peaceful Europe underpinned by the international rules-based system, the Nordic countries have an interest in contributing to the Indo-Pacific being a free, open and democratic region. In this context, we also discussed how Pacific Island countries can continue to benefit from Nordic development assistance, including through multilateral and regional organisations.”
National economic development strategies were another important theme of Mr Peters’ Nordic tour.
“For 20 years now across three terms as Foreign Minister, we have championed the idea that the economic development stories of the Nordic countries have many seriously important lessons for New Zealand,” Mr Peters says.
“That’s why we opened a New Zealand Embassy in Stockholm in 2008, and then re-opened it in 2018 after John Key’s Government misguidedly opted to close it.
“This visit has underlined the many areas New Zealand’s development could benefit from cooperating more closely with Nordic countries and their very successful companies – from fisheries management and renewable energy infrastructure to port operations, and from geothermal exploration to sovereign wealth management.
“If New Zealand is to become a more productive economy and more attractive for foreign direct investment, we need to apply practical lessons from other, small countries that have had success – and the Nordic region is a great source of them.
“There was shared agreement that there is no limit to what we might achieve together. To that end, we will be ensuring that relevant parts of the New Zealand Government and companies connect with Nordic counterparts, to start realising this still untapped potential,” Mr Peters says.
Mr Peters returns to New Zealand on Saturday 1 November.
Related links:
Joint Statement, Nordic 5-New Zealand Foreign Ministers’ Meeting:
Speech, Swedish Institute for International Affairs:
Press release, Sanctions on Russia’s oil industry and shadow fleet:
Press release, Iceland and New Zealand enhance cooperation https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/iceland-and-new-zealand-enhance-practical-cooperation__;!!Asq5-8xVch3Reg!ohosFz237Z-F25Mr5ITDFknL3qjdhxfi3-aAz0IlXVi7HNdAXSm9F7JoLOYmQWTfZBtcnDLVPEw6IJ51TvH7TsGcjr-LwA6c0dyHHiCT$
