New Zealanders celebrate today the 158th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, the cornerstone of New Zealand's success as a flourishing multi-cultural society and prosperous Asia-Pacific nation.
The treaty enshrines partnership, co-operation for common benefit and mutual respect between indigenous and settler peoples as the fundamental law and spirit of New Zealand.
These same values guide New Zealand in its pursuit of ever deeper engagement in the Asia-Pacific region.
Hong Kong is an important regional partner for New Zealand and one of its top 10 global trade and economic partners, as also is China. The past year, such an historic one for Hong Kong, saw further sound development in New Zealand's ties with the Special Administrative Region.
The success of Hong Kong's reversion to Chinese sovereignty justified New Zealand's positive commitment to business as usual in the relationship, maintained throughout the year.
A record number of senior exchanges took place, boosted by a strong New Zealand presence at both the handover ceremony and World Bank/IMF meeting and capped by a meeting between New Zealand's then-prime minister, Jim Bolger, and the Chief Executive of the SAR, Tung Chee-hwa, at the APEC leaders forum.