Foreign Minister Murray McCully is on his way to Ethiopia to attend a ministerial meeting of the African Union, the first since New Zealand gained accreditation to the 54-strong organisation.
When he is there, Mr McCully will promote New Zealand's bid for a seat on the United Nations Security Council in 2015-16, the election for which will take place in 2014.
Spain and Turkey are competing with New Zealand.
Improving relations with Africa is one of the Government's foreign affairs priorities.
New Zealand has only two diplomatic posts in the African continent, South Africa in the south and Egypt in the north.