US embassy cable - 05WELLINGTON329

UNCLAS WELLINGTON 000329 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/ANP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, NZ 
SUBJECT: INDONESIAN AND MALAYSIAN LEADERS IN NEW ZEALAND: 
SOUNDING OUT ASIAN TIES 
 
1. (U) Summary. The April 6-7 visit to New Zealand by 
Indonesian Prime Minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) and 
the March 30-April 1 visit by Malaysian Prime Minister 
Abdullah Ahmed Badawi (Abdullah) were largely symbolic, but 
provided the GoNZ an opportunity to highlight its efforts to 
strengthen alliances within Asia. On April 18, New Zealand 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) Deputy Secretary 
John McKinnon briefed the diplomatic corps on the two visits, 
outlining their accomplishments. Highlights included the 
launch of free trade negotiations with Malaysia and positive 
discussions on NZ's possible participation in the upcoming 
East Asia Summit.  End summary. 
 
Schedules 
--------- 
 
2. (U) Both SBY and Abdullah met with the Governor-General, 
held bilateral talks with Prime Minister Clark, gave press 
conferences and attended a dinner hosted by Parliament.  Both 
also had a session with the Cabinet, as they had each brought 
a significant number of Parliamentarians to NZ, and both met 
their respective communities in NZ.  Abdullah met with 
Opposition National Party leader Don Brash and also presented 
a lecture in Auckland on Islam. 
 
Malaysia: Free Trade 
-------------------- 
 
3. (U) The Malaysian visit produced a greater number of 
outcomes, primarily the announcement that the countries would 
launch free trade negotiations, with a target date of 
mid-2006 for completion. The GoNZ also announced that it 
would establish its fourth off-shore education consultant in 
Kuala Lumpur.  (Note:  The other three are in Washington, DC, 
Beijing and Brussels.) The PM and Abdullah exchanged views on 
the environment, regional issues and the upcoming East Asia 
Summit.  (Note: NZ has indicated that Parliament is likely to 
sign the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation by the end of the 
year, which is a criterion for being invited to participate 
in the summit.) 
 
Indonesia: Handshakes 
--------------------- 
 
4. (U) SBY's visit was delayed a week due to the March 28 
earthquake off Sumatra.  As McKinnon said, the Indonesian 
visit was more focused on "the basics" than the Malaysian, 
largely because NZ "does not have the same depth and history" 
in the bilateral relationship. McKinnon noted that the visit 
by Indonesia's first democratically elected leader presented 
a "good photo-opportunity" for NZ.  The GoNZ and SBY worked 
to identify areas where they could enlarge the relationship, 
agreeing on education, direct air services, cooperation on 
the inter-faith dialogue and parliamentary exchanges.  Other 
pronouncements included decisions to elevate the two 
countries' trade and economic commission to the Ministerial 
level and to further police cooperation on cross-border 
migration and similar issues.  SBY also visited the National 
Museum "Te Papa Tongarewa" to see a demonstration of natural 
disaster mitigation techniques. 
 
5. (SBU) Comment: While overall the visits were light on 
concrete deliverables, symbolism was rife, emphasizing NZ's 
expanded interests in Asian economic and political affairs. 
Pointing to NZ's increasing Muslim community, McKinnon noted 
that having Muslim national leaders visit provided the GoNZ 
with a range of views on issues facing Muslims in Asia. 
While PM Clark has had contact with both leaders in 
international fora, this was the first visit by a Malaysian 
head of government since 1996 and the first by an Indonesian 
leader since 2001.  Media reporting on both visits was 
sparse, focusing, as befits an election year, on the use of 
police resources to protect visiting dignitaries. 
Burnett