By 3news.co.nz Staff
Speaking at the Future of Asia conference in Tokyo today, Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully urged Japan to embrace globalisation to rebuild the nation.
Mr McCully is visiting Japan to promote stronger economic ties with the nation and said he hoped Japan would join the Trans Pacific Partnership agreement.
“Japan is the only major regional economy with which we do not have an FTA concluded or under negotiation,” he said.
“We envisage a FTA what is trade enhancing and win-win for both countries.”
Mr McCully said Japan was once among New Zealand’s top three trading partners but has since slipped.
The minister also thanked Japan for their assistance in both the September and February earthquakes.
He said the Japan quake really put Christchurch’s disaster into perspective and brought both countries closer by the tragedies.
“New Zealand sent a search and rescue team to be at Japan’s side, as Japan had been at ours, as well as funding to assist the survivors,” he said.
“The way in which partners from the region helped New Zealand and Japan highlights the fact that as a region we share both challenges and opportunities.”
Mr McCully addressed the disaster prone geography of the Asia-Pacific region and called for more cooperation in disaster management, saying it would help to maintain economic growth in the region.
“When faced with natural disasters, we need to ensure that we can get rescue teams on the ground as fast as possible and once there, ensure that they are well coordinated and can operate effectively, without being held up by bureaucratic processes.
“I believe that regional coordination of disaster management is essential to enhancing our common security, and indeed maintaining prosperity.”
3 News