Housing and Environment Minister Nick Smith has been rubbing shoulders with some of the business elite in Valparaiso, Chile, for the annual Our Oceans conference.
Smith was seen chatting with US Secretary of State John Kerry and investor and entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson.
Branson reportedly congratulated Smith on the newly established Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary, after the Government announced last month that 620,000sq km of the area would be protected by a marine reserve.
Oh, the irony
Air New Zealand's latest AGM was an upbeat one last week, with the company posting a record full-year profit in August of $327 million, new flight destinations and an expected positive year ahead.