US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to NZ is expected to mark the start of a closer relationship, Fran O'Sullivan looks at what's on the agenda.
Hillary Rodham Clinton - the most powerful United States public diplomat to visit New Zealand in 25 years - will be on remarkably solid ground when she comes to Auckland next week for what's been billed as a "two- day working visit".
Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully is adamant that simply getting two days of the Secretary of State's time just one year into her term of office presents the New Zealand Government with "an incredible opportunity" to move the bilateral agenda forward on a number of fronts.
Clinton is the third female Secretary of State in a row to visit New Zealand.
Madeleine Albright - who was appointed the first woman Secretary of State by former US President Bill Clinton - accompanied him to Auckland for the 1999 Apec conference.
Republican appointee Condoleezza Rice briefly visited here in August 2008, just months before George W. Bush's presidency ended.
"But not since George Shultz spat the dummy over New Zealand's performance on the Anzus issue in the mid-1980s has there been such a significant high-level visit by a US public diplomat.
"The [Obama] Administration has a strong determination to re-engage with the region," says McCully.
"Asia and the Pacific give us a number of contact points where we can build relationships effectively - and a good deal of time will be spent focusing on those."
Al Qaeda's strike last week on a CIA base in Afghanistan and the foiled attempt to blow up a plane in the United States will inevitably put the spotlight on defence and security issues when Clinton gets down to formal talks with Prime Minister John Key at Government House in Auckland on Friday.
The duo will be accompanied by McCully and US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell.
With the SAS once again on the ground in Afghanistan, Key will want assurances that the United States is bringing pressure to bear to ensure that the Karzai Government will be in a position to manage its own security when international troops are drawn down.
The pair will also discuss Key's forthcoming official visit to Washington where President Barack Obama is expected to create a leadership role for New Zealand on the nuclear non-proliferation agenda.
Japanese whaling is also expected to go on to the agenda after the sinking of the Ady Gil protest vessel in the Southern Ocean.
The Beehive is not commenting publicly. But New Zealand is expected to ask the United States to exert behind-scenes pressure on the new Japanese Government to bring its whaling in the Southern Ocean to an end.
The Government sees the US as the only player with the ability to keep everyone around the table.
McCully stresses the Key Government is focused on rebuilding the bilateral relationship on a "strand by strand" basis.
The results of this approach were apparent in Washington three months ago when Clinton repeatedly praised New Zealand's leadership on a raft of platforms from the Pacific and sustainable energy, through to driving research on climate change emissions.
But it is the rapidly deepening trade and economic agenda that has the most obvious implications for New Zealand businesses.
The most significant agenda items are the Obama Administration's decision to pursue a trade accord with the four Asia-Pacific nations (New Zealand, Singapore, Brunei and Chile) which are the bed-rock of the Trans Pacific Economic Strategic Partnership - known as TPP.
And Obama's decision to back with cold hard cash the New Zealand-led initiative to form a Global Research Alliance on agricultural emissions - which is of critical importance given such emissions make up nearly 50 per cent of New Zealand's greenhouse gases profile.
Headway is being made on both counts.
In a letter to Congressional leaders last month, US Trade Representative Ron Kirk said the TPP agreement would "create a potential platform for economic integration across the Asia-Pacific region".
But Kirk stressed US participation in TPP "is predicated on the shared objective of expanding the initial group to additional countries".
This is not the bilateral free trade deal with the United States that New Zealand businesspeople have passionately pursued.
But it does provide New Zealand with a realistic vehicle to finally deepen its economic ties with what is still the world's most powerful consumer nation.
McCully observes neither of the two politicians who carry portfolio responsibility for TPP - Kirk and Trade Minister Tim Groser - will be present.
But he stresses that trade is an important part of the bilateral relationship and will feature positively in discussions "now we have some momentum".
The development offers New Zealand the opportunity to be part of the design team for what Obama has called a trade agreement for the 21st century.
US representatives will come to New Zealand for the first meeting of the Global Research alliance, which is scheduled for April.
Where the going gets interesting is the development agenda.
In a major speech last week, Clinton spelt out that the United States is elevating development to play a role equal to diplomacy and defence in US foreign policy.
The new American agenda would be focused on "partnership not patronage". Instead of dictating solutions from afar, the US would work with countries that were demonstrating their own commitment by "practising good governance, rooting out corruption, making their own financial commitment to development".
The agenda strongly mirrors the changes McCully last year directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to apply on the New Zealand aid front.
In fact, the foreign minister reveals the US has been in close contact with New Zealand as it developed its new approach.
"They have wanted to hear how we are going and what we are doing and why we changed things," he says.
The US is expected to roll out its new policy in the Pacific as it once again re-enters the region.
In Washington, Clinton indicated her support for a New Zealand initiative to help Pacific Island nations move away from their dependence on imported oil and petroleum.
McCully notes the cost of importing diesel fuel for generators creates substantial balance of payments problems for the smaller Pacific nations. The two countries are exploring co-operative moves to bring about renewable energy initiatives in the Pacific.
"We both want to pursue thriving private sectors built around joint ventures and partnerships," says McCully.
"This will be challenging as public sector capacity building in many ways is a lot easier than creating an enabling environment for the private sector and and wherewithal for growth."
The best-laid plans could still go astray. Clinton's itinerary was still in flux yesterday.
Her advance team blew into Wellington on Thursday.
The formal bilateral talks have been nailed down for next Friday.
A meeting with Labour Leader Phil Goff and an evening reception hosted by the NZ US Council and Amcham are also scheduled to take place that day.
But much of her Saturday programme is still to be determined.
The reality is that Clinton's Blackberry will also be glued to her ear. Her global responsibilities do not stop when she comes to town.
Major international issues can still blow up and affect her schedule.
So the itinerary is not expected to be released to journalists until Tuesday.
HOWDY, PARTNER
* Hillary Clinton arrives next Friday at Auckland International Airport, accompanied by US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell.
* Major bilateral discussions with Prime Minister John Key and Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully at Government House in Auckland on Friday.
* On the agenda: US defence strategy and security issues, including Afghanistan, Trans Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership (TPP) agreement, John Key's upcoming official visit to Washington, nuclear proliferation issues, US aid to the Pacific, climate change issues, Japanese whaling, Antartica.
* She will meet Labour leader Phil Goff as well as attending a reception jointly hosted by NZ US Council and Amcham on Friday evening.
* Other engagements could involve Antarctica and women's issues.
* Flies out Sunday to Sydney for the annual Ausmin talks where she will be joined by US Defence Secretary Robert Gates.
