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The Iran/New Zealand Political and Economic Cooperation Commission (PECC) met in Tehran on 8 November 2006.
Signed in 2004, PECC is the main forum for talks between Iran and New Zealand and this was the second occasion it has met. During the talks all aspects of the relationship between Iran and New Zealand were reviewed, including the expanding bilateral trade.
The Iranian delegation was headed by Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Asia and the Pacific, Dr Mahdi Safari and included the newly appointed Iranian Ambassador to Wellington, Mr Morteza Rahmani Movahed.
The Iranian delegation emphasised Iran wanted to expand business in areas that were mutually complimentary. Possibilities in the energy, scientific and education sectors were discussed. With regard to the energy sector, the Iranian Energy Department expressed satisfaction with New Zealand involvement in both the CNG and geothermal industries. Other areas of future promise included New Zealand’s capabilities in earthquake technology and education.
The New Zealand delegation led by Deputy Foreign Secretary Alan Williams observed that Iran and New Zealand enjoyed a complimentary, balanced and expanding trade relationship and cited the involvement of Fonterra, AHI and other New Zealand companies in the Iranian market. New Zealand again expressed support for Iran’s bid to join the World Trade Organisation. In the past Iran has expressed an interest in learning from New Zealand’s experience in the WTO accession process, trade policy and agricultural reform.
The talks also covered detailed exchanges on regional and international developments, particularly Afghanistan and Iraq and the climate change / environmental work being undertaken by the University of Canterbury in Sistan Baluchistan province.
New Zealand's contribution to the reconstruction of the city of Bam, following a 2003 earthquake, was marked by the opening of the Ghasemzade health centre earlier this year.
The health centre is one of a number of small facilities designed to act as a "first point of contact" for medical treatment in local communities.
Health facilities were especially hard hit by the December 2003 earthquake which destroyed 2 Hospitals, 2 health-training facilities and 22 health centres. The earthquake also killed nearly a third of Bam's 90,000 people, with another third injured. 85% of the areas buildings were severely damaged or destroyed, leaving many survivors homeless.
The New Zealand government immediately gave $200,000 NZD to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) for emergency supplies including tents, tarpaulins, blankets, kitchen and water purification equipment, and kerosene for cooking and heating. New Zealand Red Cross also contributed $50,000 NZD to the IFRC appeal.
The New Zealand public were also quick to respond with donations of $150,000 NZD to World Vision New Zealand (WVNZ) within just a few days of the disaster. WVNZ 's total contribution was $280,000 USD which was focussed on construction of much needed health centres in Bam.
The Ghasemzade Health Centre was not only funded by New Zealand donations, but a New Zealand organisation was responsible for the planning and construction of the facility with up to 10 New Zealanders working on the site during the 12 months of construction.
Since being accepted to begin WTO talks over a year ago, little progress has been made in Iran’s bid to join the WTO.
The WTO established a Working Party in May 2005 to consider Iran’s application, which initially filed in 1996, had been subject to objections from the United States.
The Iranian accession process will provide New Zealand with an opportunity to enter into talks with Iran. A successful WTO entry would not only bring economic benefits to Iran, but New Zealand exporters would also benefit if Iran joins the rules-based international trading system.
Iran must start on the path to the WTO by presenting a summary of its trade regime to the WTO.
New Zealand and Pakistan held their inaugural Foreign Ministry Consultations in Islamabad on 19 September.
Traditionally New Zealand’s relations with Pakistan have been friendly but lacking in substance. Outside of sporting links, this has been largely confined to the Commonwealth and other multilateral fora such as the United Nations and World Trade Organisation. During 2005/06 New Zealand’s exports to Pakistan grew 85% to $55 million, primarily in milk powders. Bilateral commercial links are growing but as yet limited to $117 million.
However in a sign of the growing substance in the bilateral relationship, New Zealand and Pakistan held their inaugural Foreign Ministry Consultations in Islamabad in September.
The talks offered a valuable opportunity to exchange views on regional and international issues, including Commonwealth matters, counter terrorism efforts, developments in Afghanistan, nuclear non-proliferation, United Nations reform and regional security. During the closing remarks the Pakistan delegation noted the foreign ministry consultations were a milestone in the relationship.
In the margins of the talks, the head of the New Zealand delegation, Deputy Secretary John McKinnon, also met with a number of organisations involved in bilateral trade with New Zealand such as the Export Promotion Bureau and the Pakistan Dairy Development Company.
An important outcome of President Musharraf’s visit to New Zealand in 2005 was agreement on those areas of potential in the relationship, namely agricultural and education. These areas were also addressed in the talks.
In the agricultural area the government led drive for low cost farming in Pakistan has created a promising market for New Zealand equipment. As part of its agricultural reform package the Pakistan Government has recently removed all import duty and sales tax on farm dairy equipment.
In the education area similarly good progress has been achieved with the establishment of the Pakistan Government PhD student programme to New Zealand. Massey and Auckland universities have each made several visits to Pakistan and the Pakistan Higher Education Commission is currently advertising nearly a hundred scholarships across three countries, one of which is New Zealand.
Other areas of promise include the ICT sector. New Zealand Trade and Enterprise led an ICT mission to Pakistan during May 2005, the first New Zealand trade mission to Pakistan for many years.
Iran’s new Ambassador in Wellington, Mr Morteza Rahmani Movahed, presented his credentials at Government House in November.
Mr Movahed’s previous postings have been in Austria, Germany and China. From 2003 until this year he has had been Head of the Shaghai Cooperation Organisation in the Iranian Foreign Ministry. He is married with three children.
Dr Movahed replaces Ambassador Sheikh Hassani who has returned to Tehran.
Pakistan opened a High Commission in Wellington in June.
High Commissioner, Munawar Saeed Bhatti, presented his credentials at Government House on 29 June.
In her speech at the credentials ceremony, the New Zealand Governor-General welcomed the opening of the Pakistan High Commission in Wellington as a further opportunity to put real substance into the bilateral relationship and noted that both countries have much to offer each other.
High Commissioner Bhatti commented that Pakistan and New Zealand enjoy friendly and harmonious relations marked by shared goodwill and understanding.
Did you know the New Zealand Embassy in Tehran is also accredited to Afghanistan?
In addition to Iran and Pakistan, the Embassy is also responsible for relations with Kabul. So what is the nature of New Zealand’s relationship with Afghanistan?
New Zealand has since 2002 made a major contribution to Afghanistan, centred on the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Bamyan Province. The PRT commitment currently extends to September 2007.
Despite progress in many areas, much still remains to be done in Afghanistan. NZAID, New Zealand's International Aid and Development Agency, support targets priority areas like governance reform, human rights and agricultural development.
A number of Iranian films have been proving popular at Film Festivals in New Zealand again.
The Telecom 35 Wellington Film Festival included “It’s Winter” directed by Rafi Pitts, “Men at Work” directed by Mani Haghighi and “Offside” by Jafar Panahi.
The Date Palm Festival (formerly the Middle East Film Festival) also featured “Day Break” directed by Hamid Rahmanian.
Latest trade statistics show that Iran is among New Zealand’s top export markets in the Middle East.
Last year our exports grew 45% to NZ$111 million, returning to the earlier high levels of trade of two years ago. In recent years New Zealand’s export trade to Iran has developed into exciting new areas, with more sales of advanced technology and services sparking a marked increase in private sector links.
Butter and wool remain the major export commodities, but Iran is also a growing market for a range of New Zealand product and services, including electronics, software systems, geothermal expertise and CNG technology, air traffic control services and fisheries resource management services.
Iranian imports in the same period amounted to NZ$58 million and consisted mainly of refined petroleum products (95%) and carpets, along with smaller quantities of dates, figs and grapes.
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