Peters confirms Washington date with Rice

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters confirmed yesterday that he will head to Washington next week to meet senior United States political figures.

Mr Peters - who had been coy about revealing details of his trip - will make a two-day visit next Tuesday and Wednesday. He is scheduled to have a formal meeting with United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

The meeting with Dr Rice on Wednesday was expected to last around an hour, Mr Peters told Radio Live yesterday.

Mr Peters' trip to Washington has been the subject of intense media speculation, fuelled by the refusal of his office to confirm the travel plans. The delay in announcing details of what is considered an important ministerial visit led to accusations from National that the Foreign Affairs Minister was "sneaking off" in a way that demeaned himself and his mission.

Yesterday Mr Peters' office said that during the trip he would also meet National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, the chairman of the Senate's foreign relations committee, Richard Lugar, Senator John McCain, and a range of senior congressional representatives with an interest in East Asia and the Pacific.

Mr Peters offered few details of what he intended to raise but he did say that the trip "provides an important opportunity to discuss with US counterparts the many areas of foreign and security policy where we have common interests, and which can provide a platform for an even closer relationship".

Mr Peters met Dr Rice briefly at Apec in South Korea last November but they did not have a formal meeting, the coup he has been intent on securing.

Mr Peters described the United States as a "long-standing and fundamentally important partner" for New Zealand.

"It is good that we continue to embrace opportunities for dialogue and co-operation," he said.