World

Prime Minister John Key will host the President of the Philippines for discussions on two-way trade and other bilateral matters straight after Labour Weekend (October 22-23) President Benigno Aquino III – visiting NZ for the first time – will be accompanied by Secretary of Foreign Affairs Albert del Rosario, other members of the President’s Cabinet and a large trade delegation. …

Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Steven Joyce is leading a delegation to India to lift  New Zealand’s profile as a destination for international students and to support NZ tertiary institutions and companies seeking to grow their business in the Indian market. “India is New Zealand’s third largest source of international students with 12,358 students enrolled in courses in …

Vladivostok has got a lot going for it. But out in the ‘Gulag’ – the concrete monstrosity that the Russians have plonked on Russky Island – it wasn’t so hot. It wasn’t the shoddy building standards (lifts stopping mid-floor; toilet doors too large for their frames) but the E-coli bug that did in several NZ delegates there for the prestigious APEC CEOs …

Vladimir Putin is famously late. He stood-up the Ukraine president for four hours while he stopped off for a catch-up with Russian bikers called the “night wolves”. He’s even reported to have kept the Queen and the Pope waiting. Last week he kept influential international investors – including a big Chinese delegation – cooling their heels at the Apec chief …

Trade Minister Tim Groser has chalked up a victory in New Zealand’s long quest for a free trade deal with the emerging economic powerhouse of Russia. Let’s just call it “China redux”. The smart geo-politicking by New Zealand’s bevy of trade ministers and officials over nearly a decade has paved the way for this country to form a bilateral FTA …

The Clark Government needs to get down to some serious strategy work after the collapse of the Cancun talks. New Zealand is at a critical point. There are strong suggestions that the key World Trade Organisation players will now change tack and build cosy clubs of their own. Their membership conditions – if New Zealand is invited to join – …

ANDAR SERI BEGAWAN – In Auckland last year, Bill Clinton could hardly move without feeling the beady eyes of his mother-in-law tracking his every move. The Clinton women: wife Hillary, daughter Chelsea and mother-in-law Dorothy Rodham, were not about to risk another bimbo eruption. Hillary Rodham Clinton – stepping up her campaign to run for a seat in the US …

More than fine New Zealand wine will be flowing this weekend at Apec. The chief executives’ summit will bring together around 330 international delegates for four busy days of debate and discussion in a forum which aims to build relationships between business and politics and analyse the impact of globalisation. After a full day of registration, guests will be welcomed …