Australia and New Zealand set to reaffirm defence relationship to protect security in the region – Euro Weekly News

Australia and New Zealand set to reaffirm defence relationship to protect security in the region. Image: Aleksandar Mijatovic/Shutterstock.com

New Zealands Minister of Defence Peeni Henare departs for Australia on Sunday, October 16 to meet with the countrys Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Richard Marles to discuss defence cooperation and security in the region.

The annual meeting will take place in Victoria ahead of both Ministers travelling to Tonga to attend the South Pacific Defence Ministers meeting, the New Zealand government said.

Peeni Henare said about the meeting: I met with Minister Marles at the Shangri-La Dialogue earlier this year and we agreed we needed to sit down and have a more in-depth discussion, and this is a good opportunity to do just that.

Australia is our only formal defence ally and our two countries have a proud history of working together. This will be a chance for the two of us to discuss matters relating to our region and how our two countries can further strengthen our bilateral defence relationship and cooperation.

Henare travels to Tonga on Monday, October 17 and will return to New Zealand on October 20.

The news comes after the New Zealand government added new sanctions and trade bans on Russia and Belarus in response to Putins attempts to illegally annex parts of Ukraine.

Sanctions targeted 51 oligarchs including New Zealand-linked Alexander Abramov and 24 Russian-backed office holders in annexed areas of Ukraine.

The new bans were on exports and imports of luxury goods like NZ wine and seafood and Russian vodka and caviar, as well as strategically important products like oil, gas and related production equipment.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article, do remember to come back and checkThe Euro Weekly Newswebsite for all your up-to-date local and international news stories and remember, you can also follow us onFacebookandInstagram.

Read more:

Australia and New Zealand set to reaffirm defence relationship to protect security in the region - Euro Weekly News