Peters coy about his Washington date

Winston Peters and Condoleezza Rice at Apec in November. Picture / Reuters

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters is heading to Washington next week but he does not want the country to know it yet.

The visit has long been on the agenda but Mr Peters has been coy about his plans and journalists wanting to accompany him have been told to remain on stand-by.

He is understood to have wanted to avoid confirmation until the last minute in case a meeting with the United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has to be rescheduled.

Normally, official travel plans of senior ministers would be made available in advance to journalists, but Mr Peters has been reticent on several occasions about his itinerary and scheduled meetings.

He began his term as Foreign Minister by making a pitch for a closer relationship with the United States and would not want his first official visit to Washington in the role to be marred by a meeting with the Secretary of State falling through.

His predecessor Phil Goff met former Secretary of State Colin Powell in Washington in 2004 and as Defence Minister met Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld there in April - a further reason Mr Peters will want to ensure he is able to meet Dr Rice.

Mr Peters arrived back in New Zealand this week after a two-week, five-country visit to Europe.

He did not return a call from the Herald yesterday.

His spokesman said of the Washington trip: "He is going some time soon but no decision on the date has been made."

A well-placed source said Mr Peters was scheduled to leave on Monday.

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.

His decision to push for a closer relationship with the United States was welcomed in Washington, where it was seen as a final recognition of the call for the same thing made by former Ambassador Charles Swindells before he departed for home a year ago.

The election, which fell between Mr Swindells' speech and Mr Peters' appointment, sparked tensions in Washington after Labour's decision to campaign hard on the anti-nuclear front and to claim that National was being funded by an American "bagman".

Relations have improved and several senior Americans, including Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, have praised New Zealand's work in Afghanistan and the Pacific.

Mr Hill's comments came a month after Mr Peters attracted controversy by suggesting the United States did not fully appreciate New Zealand's contribution in the Pacific.

A spokeswoman for Helen Clark, who attended the United States Embassy's Independence Day celebrations this year for the first time as Prime Minister, said it was up to Mr Peters to announce the details of his visit.

Mr Swindells called for a "comprehensive dialogue" to repair the relationship, saying successive governments had been "unwilling or unable" to properly deal with the strains accumulated since New Zealand's ban on nuclear-propelled ships.

Mr Peters has yet to provide much detail about how he intends to improve the relationship, beyond his push for a closer working relationship in the Pacific, or to reveal his goals for the Washington visit.