John Key, the New Zealand prime minister, heads to Yokohama, Japan, today for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ free trade talks.
Key was looking forward to having a “pull aside” chat during the leaders’ meetings with American President Barack Obama, the Dominion Post reported.
On his arrival in Tokyo yesterday, Key met with JTB, Japan and Asia’s largest travel agency. He later announced the government’s intention of investing $1.2 million in a joint venture with Air New Zealand in a campaign to draw more Japanese tourists to New Zealand.
The number of Japanese tourists visiting New Zealand had fallen from 180,000 to 88,000 in the last 10 years, according to the Post.
Last year’s summit in Singapore focused on climate change. However, Key was reported by Newstalk ZB as saying that the direction of climate change talks this year would be influenced by Obama’s retreat from the issue of emissions trading schemes.
According to the report, New Zealand’s main interest at the summit lies in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which was said to be a ‘priority’ for the U.S.
Free trading blocs among nations have now replaced the original APEC format adopted in Indonesia in 1994, where free trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region was set as a target for industrialized economies.
New Zealand is hoping to enter the U.S. market through the ‘back door’ if the nine-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement comes to fruition.
This, says Newstalk ZB, will potentially increase New Zealand’s two-way $8 billion trade with the U.S.
One of the biggest headaches at the conference was reported to be the fall in value of the U.S. dollar, which had led to diminished export revenues for many countries already struggling economically.
Key was looking forward to having a “pull aside” chat during the leaders’ meetings with American President Barack Obama, the Dominion Post reported.
On his arrival in Tokyo yesterday, Key met with JTB, Japan and Asia’s largest travel agency. He later announced the government’s intention of investing $1.2 million in a joint venture with Air New Zealand in a campaign to draw more Japanese tourists to New Zealand.
The number of Japanese tourists visiting New Zealand had fallen from 180,000 to 88,000 in the last 10 years, according to the Post.
Last year’s summit in Singapore focused on climate change. However, Key was reported by Newstalk ZB as saying that the direction of climate change talks this year would be influenced by Obama’s retreat from the issue of emissions trading schemes.
According to the report, New Zealand’s main interest at the summit lies in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which was said to be a ‘priority’ for the U.S.
Free trading blocs among nations have now replaced the original APEC format adopted in Indonesia in 1994, where free trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region was set as a target for industrialized economies.
New Zealand is hoping to enter the U.S. market through the ‘back door’ if the nine-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement comes to fruition.
This, says Newstalk ZB, will potentially increase New Zealand’s two-way $8 billion trade with the U.S.
One of the biggest headaches at the conference was reported to be the fall in value of the U.S. dollar, which had led to diminished export revenues for many countries already struggling economically.
