Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters today announced two diplomatic appointments: New Zealand’s High Commissioner to India and Consul-General to Hong Kong.
“As New Zealand recovers from COVID-19, our diplomatic and trade networks are more important than ever. That is why the government is focused on placing high-calibre career diplomats in important offshore positions,” Mr Peters said.
Minister Peters has announced the following two diplomatic appointments:
- David Pine as New Zealand’s High Commissioner to India; and
- Stephanie Lee as our Consul-General in Hong Kong.
India
“As my visit to New Delhi and Mumbai with Trade Minister David Parker in February demonstrated, New Zealand and India could and should be doing more together,” Mr Peters said. “As fellow Commonwealth democracies, our strategic cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region is going from strength to strength.”
Mr Pine has previously served as New Zealand’s High Commissioner to Malaysia and Brunei and Ambassador to the Philippines. He has also had postings in New York and Canberra. More recently, he was Chair of the Trade for All Advisory Board announced by Prime Minister Ardern in August 2018.
While based in New Delhi, Mr Pine will also be accredited to Bangladesh and Nepal.
Hong Kong
“Hong Kong is an important trade partner and a significant source of foreign direct investment for New Zealand,” Mr Peters said.
“Hong Kong and New Zealand have shared values, open markets and common law jurisdictions.”
Ms Lee has previously served as New Zealand’s Ambassador to ASEAN in Jakarta, with other postings in New York and Paris. She has most recently served as Special Adviser to the Climate Change Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
