Young Leaders Forum dinner

I begin by greeting everyone in the languages of the realm of New Zealand, in English, Māori, Cook Island Māori, Niuean, Tokelauan and New Zealand Sign Language.  Greetings, Kia Ora, Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Taloha Ni and as it is evening (Sign)

I then specifically greet you: Hon Philip Burdon and Ken Douglas, Chair and Deputy Chair respectively of the Asia New Zealand Foundation and your trustees; Dr Richard Grant, Executive Director of the Foundation and your staff; Your Excellencies: Justice (Rtd) MPH Rubin, High Commissioner for Singapore; Dato' Hasnudin Bin Hamzah, High Commissioner for Malaysia; Admiral (Rtd) Sureesh Mehta, High Commissioner for India; Kwang-Il Noh, Ambassador for the Republic of Korea; Noppadon Theppitak, Ambassador for the Kingdom of Thailand; Xu Jianguo, Ambassador for People’s Republic of China; Hideto Mitamura, Ambassador for Japan; Other members of the Diplomatic Corps; Distinguished Guests otherwise; Ladies and Gentlemen.

In the context of this gathering, may I add the following greetings, which I hope will cover a number of the many nationalities represented here tonight: Sawatdi; Ni hao; Namaste; Chao ban; Selamat, Sok sabai jie te, Mingala ba, Annyong hashimnikka and Konnichi wa.

It is a great pleasure to be here tonight for the closing dinner of the Asia New Zealand Young Leaders Forum 2010.

As Governor-General of New Zealand, and as Patron of the Asia New Zealand Foundation, I have always found it very gratifying to meet those who are actively involved in activity enhancing the relationship between New Zealand and the nations of Asia.

I have spoken at a number of Asia New Zealand Foundation events since becoming the Governor-General more than four years ago.  It has been a pleasure to note in that time, a considerable strengthening in the relationships between New Zealand and Asia.

The Asia New Zealand Foundation has played a pivotal role in this. It has done so through advocacy and research, through husbanding contacts, and through its involvement with a wide range of activities to foster links, in business, in media and in education.

Earlier this month, I hosted a dinner for the Foundation’s honorary advisers at Government House in Auckland.  Within that room were some of the more influential people in government, business and academia from a great many countries; China and India, Korea and Vietnam, Singapore and the Philippines for example. 

That group of honorary advisors plays a valuable role in providing contacts and references and opening doors for key New Zealand officials and business people.   It also speaks volumes of the reputation of the Foundation that people with substantial and recognised backgrounds have agreed to support its work.

In addition to being a catalyst for relationships with established leaders in Asia, the Foundation also works to encourage relationships and leadership among younger people.  One of those activities, of course, is hosting and facilitating the Young Leaders Forum, which brings together some 30 young people from New Zealand and Asia for a week-long programme. 

I have said on other occasions that I believe the Asian community in New Zealand to have come of age. I am not only speaking of the growing number of New Zealanders of Asian descent who now proudly call this country their home, but, as well of the greater contribution these individuals are now making to the nation’s activities, in the field of sports and cultural endeavours, in business, politics, education and the academic world, and as well in central and local government.

There are now six members of the New Zealand Parliament with Asian ancestry. There have been recently two mayors of metropolitan Dunedin of Asian ancestry, namely, Dame Sukhinder Turner and Peter Chin.

Currently, His Worship Meng Foon serves as the Mayor of Gisborne in the region Captain Cook named, or I should say misnamed, Poverty Bay. Māori have a rather more apt, and upbeat, name for that area, “Tairawhiti”, which translates as “the tides that are shone upon”.  “Upbeat” is certainly the style that Mr Foon uses in championing his region, which he proceeds to do using fluent English, Māori and Cantonese.  There are a number of Asian contributors as councillors in territorial local authorities.

Recent scientific investigation at the Victoria University of Wellington, using DNA and carbon dating, suggests that the ancestors of Māori may have originally come to New Zealand from Taiwan, via the Philippines and Indonesia and into Polynesia.  This gives added emphasis to the observation of the late Dr Michael King, author of the best-selling Penguin History of New Zealand, that: “In a country inhabited for a mere one thousand years, everybody is an immigrant or a descendant of immigrants.”

In recent times, migration has added to the cultural wealth of New Zealand, and it is noticeable that festivals such as Diwali and the Chinese New Year are becoming New Zealand-based celebrations of Asian heritage and culture.  While I myself, was born in Auckland, New Zealand, my background, with parents born in Fiji and grandparents born in India, is another example of the growing role of migration and of New Zealand’s increasing cultural and ethnic diversity. 

At the same time as Asian people have settled into New Zealand, this country has increasingly turned to the nations of Asia for the purposes of trade.  Of New Zealand’s top 20 trading partners, 12 are in Asia or the Middle East.  By way of comparison, in 1955, Britain took almost two-thirds of New Zealand’s exports.  Today, that trade relationship accounts for less than 5 percent and, driven in part by the signing of the Free Trade Agreement in 2008, China is now New Zealand’s second largest trading partner, having overtaken the United States.

As we all know, the Chinese and Indian economies have defied the global financial crisis and are continuing to grow very quickly.  There has been an ongoing and fundamental shift in the world’s geo-political and economic axis in progress and those two nations are currently to be the world’s largest economies by 2050.

This kind of point was referred to in a speech by New Zealand’s former Ambassador to the United Nations, Terence O’Brien, at a seminar last year organised by New Zealand Institute of International Affairs.  Commenting on the influence of the so-called “BRIC nations”, the quartet of Brazil, Russia, India and China, Terence O’Brien, who is now a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Strategic Studies at the Victoria University of Wellington, made an observation in the following words:

“The pendulum of international affairs is swinging.  One essential conclusion can be drawn from the dual spectacle of BRIC emergence as a global influence, and of East Asia’s advance as a regional, and global force: To be modern and successful in the 21st Century will no longer necessarily equate with being ‘Western’”.

This change has not been lost on the New Zealand Government.  Having signed a Free Trade Agreement with China, New Zealand is now negotiating one with India. It is also working to expand the P4 Agreement between New Zealand, Brunei Darussalam, Chile and Singapore into a wider Trans-Pacific agreement. Those negotiations involve a potential membership of the United States, Australia, Malaysia, Peru and Vietnam.

In the deepening of New Zealand’s relationship with Asia, it is my belief that people-to-people links will play a crucial role.

When I was in Beijing two years ago to support the New Zealand athletes attending the Olympic Games, I was told that the number of Chinese students who had studied in New Zealand between 2000 and 2008 was in the six figure range. After graduation, and return to China that represents a very significant and positive alumni constituency for New Zealand and its interests in China. And that’s only China.  Likewise, five or six years ago, there were 400 Indian students studying in New Zealand; there are now about 9,000.  I could only hazard a guess at the true number of students from throughout Asia who have studied here, but I am confident it would be very significant.

People-to-people links underline what the Asia New Zealand Foundation Young Leaders Forum is all about.  I have been looking at the profiles of the participants at this year’s forum, and I must say they make for very encouraging reading.

There is a high level of talent represented here, and an impressive variety in the educational and career based endeavours in which members of this group are engaged.

It seems obvious therefore, that the gains made personally from having attended this Forum will lead onto having a much wider impact.   You will have gained important knowledge about New Zealand’s interactions with Asia, as well as the opportunity to enhance leadership and communication skills to build relationships across cultures. 

In conclusion, I would like to congratulate the Asia New Zealand Foundation for its ongoing work in promoting the Young Leaders Forum and all the organisations and embassies which have contributed to this event.  But most importantly, I would like to congratulate you, the Forum members, for participating in this event and I now wish you all the best for your future careers.

On that congratulatory note, I will close in New Zealand’s first language Māori, by offering everyone greetings and wishing you all good health and fortitude in your endeavours. No reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tēnā koutou katoa.