NZ joins powerful EU-Asia forum

John Key. Photo / Simon Baker

New Zealand has become a new member of an influential grouping, the Asia-Europe Meeting, the first forum that connects New Zealand closely to the European Union.

It will add another engagement to the busy summit diary of the Prime Minister. These include Apec, the East Asia Summit, the Pacific Islands Forum, and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

The Asem, as it is called, comprises the 27 countries in the European Union and 16 Asian countries.

All countries of the East Asia Summit, which is becoming an increasingly important forum for New Zealand, are members of Asem.

New Zealand, Australia and Russia have been approved in a new membership grouping of Asem that comes neither from Europe nor from Asia.

It meets every two years, and on alternate years to the Commonwealth summit. Its next meeting is in Brussels next month, the eighth since it began in 1996.

John Key has not even announced the fact that New Zealand's application to join was accepted, let alone whether he will attend the first meeting.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully said he was likely to attend whether or not Mr Key did.

"This will be a gathering of countries that have a key influence over many things that happen in other places. It is just a conversation we wouldn't want to miss out on."

Among the leaders attending will be German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicholas Sarkozy. British Prime Minister David Cameron will be at the Conservative Party conference.

Major political and financial issues will be discussed. Mr McCully said it was a "gathering of European heavyweights and Asian heavyweights and a significant part of our trade and economic story and our diplomatic story is about being a bridge, a natural bridge between Asia and Europe".

"We certainly didn't want to be the only East Asia Summit nation not to be there and that would have been the consequences of not joining."

New Zealand was very dependent on playing a constructive and respected role in international forums to be able to have its voice heard. "We can't rely on our size or our economic weight."