Lord Tu'ivakano began his official visit by calling on the New Zealand Prime Minister, the Rt. Honourable John Keys at Parliament House on Wednesday 10th August. The two Prime Ministers were able to share common goals and aspirations towards greater economic development and assistance to Tonga by the New Zealand Government. Lord Tu'ivakano, in his opening remarks first wished the Rt. Hon. John Keys a happy and belated birthday as well as extending his appreciation of New Zealand's ongoing assistance over many decades especially in the fields of education, technical and vocational training to name a few.
The Rt Hon. John Keys offered further assistance that would bolster greater economic cooperation between the two countries and which Lord Tu'ivakano feels is of great concern to Tonga. The Rt. Hon. John Keys further wished Lord Tu'ivakano his best wishes and congratulated him as the first elected Prime Minister of Tonga under the new system, leading a government that is accountable and transparent to the people of Tonga.
As a kind gesture of goodwill, both Prime Ministers wished each other's national rugby team the best of luck for the upcoming Rugby World Cup in which Tonga's ‘Ikale Tahi plays New Zealand's mighty All Blacks in the opening match on 9th September. Lord Tu'ivakano also accepted an invitation from the Rt. Hon. John Keys to join him at the opening of the RWC at Eden Park.
The Prime Minister, Lord Tu'ivakano then proceeded to meet with members of the New Zealand government where he met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Hon. Murray McCully. Lord Tu'ivakano and Hon. McCully were able to go through a series of assistance that is urgently needed in Tonga. The meeting also resolved the issue of Tonga's intention of setting up of a solar powered unit that would generate solar powered electricity and assist with Tonga's program on renewable energy and energy efficiency. The Tongan government is happy to announce that New Zealand will assist with the setting up of a 1.5 mega watt solar power PVC electricity generating unit that would assist in reducing electricity tariffs over the next 12 month period. This project will be fully funded by the New Zealand government and is expected to be operated by Meridian Electricity, a New Zealand government agency for the production of solar power electricity at low cost distributions.
Tonga is therefore expecting to cut the price of electricity on the main island by 15 percent by June 2012.
The Prime Minister further met with the New Zealand Minister of Defence, Hon. Wayne Mapp, where they discussed defence cooperation amongst the two countries. Hon. Mapp presented the Prime Minister with the opportunity of a Pacific Partnership where the New Zealand Defence will work closely now with the Defence Services of the United States to assist the Pacific Island countries with their defence programs and most important on naval surveillance and security issues which the New Zealand Navy has been instrumental in providing for the Pacific over the last decade. This is the first time that the New Zealand Defence has re-established key defence links with the US Military ever since the decision by the New Zealand government back in the mid-1980's to ban any US nuclear ships docking in New Zealand ports.
To conclude the Prime Minister's call on members of the New Zealand government, Lord Tu'ivakano also met with the Leader of Opposition, Hon. Phil Goff and Labour MP, Ms Maryan Street. Hon. Goff and the Prime Minister were able to establish mutual grounds having determined that they both went to the same primary school, at Three King's Primary which is also Hon. Goff's constituency. The meeting agreed on grounds for the improvement of greater involvement of Pacific Islanders in community activities in the greater Mangere area where Hon. Goff is the sitting representative. This area includes Mt. Roskill, Three Kings, Mt. Albert and Otahuhu in the greater Auckland area which is also the biggest concentration of Pacific Islanders, including Tongans.
In conclusion, the Prime Minister, Lord Tu'ivakano believes that his first official visit to New Zealand was not only a resounding success, but a stepping stone in the right direction for his government and its efforts to improve bilateral agreements and assistance from New Zealand.
ENDS
Issued by the: Prime Minister's Office, Nuku'alofa, 2011.
