Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters will visit New Caledonia this week. Photo credit: RNZ.
Source: RNZ Pacific
Aotearoa New Zealand’s Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters will travel to New Caledonia on May 1-2, 2025, where he will hold talks with visiting French Minister for Overseas Manuel Valls.
Minister Valls arrived in the French Pacific territory on Tuesday to pursue crucial discussions with all local political stakeholders.
Amid strong opposition and polarisation between pro-independence parties and those who want New Caledonia to remain part of France, the talks aim to reach an agreement that would define New Caledonia’s political and institutional future.
Minister Valls says he will stay in New Caledonia “as long as necessary” in order to reach the crucial agreement, one year after deadly riots broke out in May 2024.
Meanwhile, Deputy PM Peters says his visit comes at an important moment in New Caledonia’s history and reinforces New Zealand’s commitment to being a constructive partner in the region for both New Caledonia and France.
During his visit, the Foreign Affairs Minister also intends to meet New Caledonia Government President Alcide Ponga.
Deputy PM Peters, who evokes “New Zealand’s warm and long-standing relationship with France”, says New Zealand wants to listen, learn and support New Caledonia’s pathway forward as a neighbour and fellow member of the Pacific Islands Forum.
During his two-day visit, he also plans to visit the Nouméa-based Pacific Community (SPC), a regional inter-governmental agency founded in 1947 and its Director-General Dr Stuart Minchin.
A visit by Deputy PM Peters in May 2024 had to be postponed as the French territory was the scene of violent civil unrest and destructive riots that caused 14 dead and an estimated €2.2 billion in damages.
The visit was rescheduled to December 2024.
In the meantime, a delegation of Pacific Islands Forum leaders also visited as part of a fact-finding mission in October 2024.
