Mr. Chairman, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a pleasure to meet with you today. This is the third ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference I have attended and once again we have had an interesting and lively discussion in the 6+7 meeting on issues of common interest.

Security and stability are vital to your and our people's prosperity and growth. Regional security issues are best addressed before they become just that - issues. Preventive diplomacy is the answer. Regional security is now firmly fixed on the PMC agenda. We have joined the process with unqualified support for it.

New Zealand has a long-established and special association with ASEAN and each of its Member Countries. These ties stem from a variety of factors - a history of defence and development cooperation assistance, the Colombo Plan and other support for nation-building, shared Commonwealth bonds with some; and, more recently, a growing momentum of economic, trade and other cooperation bilaterally and in multilateral organisations, including through the Cairns Group.

That you invited us and Australia to be your first Dialogue Partners some nineteen years ago speaks for itself. Increasingly, New Zealand and our ASEAN neighbours share the same future.

Overall, we believe the New Zealand/ASEAN relationship is in excellent shape. That alone should not allow us to relax. We want to consolidate and expand that relationship. We welcome any new ASEAN ideas or initiatives designed to achieve that.

A regular pattern of Ministerial visits has developed. In the past year, both Trade Minister Philip Burdon and I have made anumber of significant visits to this region. Most recently, Science and Technology Minister Simon Upton led a team to the region which followed visits by other New Zealand Ministerial colleagues. In return, we have welcomed visits from a number of you and your colleagues.

I was pleased to sign earlier today an exchange of letters with Datuk Abdullah which establishes the Joint Management Committee for the ASEAN/New Zealand Economic Cooperation Programme. This is a useful initiative and will enhance the management of New Zealand's development cooperation programme with ASEAN. I am sure it will be successful.

Your economies continue to boom and your international standing and prestige grow.

New Zealand's trade patterns with ASEAN are increasingly reflecting the dynamics of the region:

- two-way trade is worth just over $2 billion and in 1992 increased by
more than 40% on the previous year;

- ASEAN takes 7.2% of our exports;

- exports to ASEAN are growing faster than ex- ports to the world as
a whole (last year, for in- stance, total exports increased 10%, but
exports to the six ASEAN countries increased 33%);

- your share of our total imports has grown by 50% in the past five years.

Investment, education, tourism and other services are also key elements in the New Zealand/ ASEAN economic relationship. There are many students from ASEAN in New Zealand. They, the business people and the holiday visitors, are welcome. They contribute to New Zealand society. More and more New Zealanders are visiting, working or studying in your countries.

There is great potential for the economic relationship to continue growing in both directions. We have largely complementary economies and the geographical distance between us is easily manageable with good transport links.

New Zealand is a very easy place to do business. We have an extremely deregulated and open economy, with no import licensing. Over 90% of all New Zealand imports, including a majority of ASEAN imports, enter New Zealand duty-free. There are opportunities for your exporters to pursue.

We see AFTA as a positive development with good trade liberalising potential. If our CER experience is anything to go by, this will, through greater efficiencies and competitiveness in your economies, lead to gains not only in intra-ASEAN trade but also between ASEAN and the rest of the world, including New Zealand.

Negotiations on the GATT Uruguay Round continue: we all seek an equitable outcome. We have worked closely with many of you in the Cairns Group to achieve this. New Zealand's market access offer for goods in the Round represents substantial average trade-weighted tariff cuts for you. We are encouraged by the various trade liberalising initiatives being introduced unilaterally by regional countries. We continue to seek, however, improved market access offers in both goods and services, as a key to resolving the Uruguay Round. Links and understanding between our peoples are the essence of the ASIA 2000 programme we launched last year. We want to raise New Zealanders awareness of Asia.

It's a long-term strategy. But the results are already starting to show. New Zealand business people realise our future lies in cooperation with Asia and are enthusiastic.

Earlier this month we held a highly successful ASIA 2000 WEEK. During that week a sort of "Asia fever" took hold throughout the country as we celebrated things Asian and our connection with them. Our schools, our community groups and service organisations were all involved.

A key goal of our ASIA 2000 programme is to build in New Zealand the knowledge, structures and systems that will allow New Zealanders to become fully and positively engaged with their neighbours throughout the Asian region.

It was made clear at the strategy planning seminar we held in Wellington during ASIA 2000 WEEK that our educators have a major role to play in this process. A priority for us over the next few years will be to ensure appropriate Asian studies are mainstreamed throughout the New Zealand education system. I am pleased that New Zealand universities are developing new links with counterparts in ASEAN countries.

At the beginning of July, the New Zealand Government announced its budget for the 1993/94 fiscal year. That budget was necessarily fiscally responsible. Nevertheless, development assistance cooperation with ASEAN and member states was retained at 1992 levels. In addition, as recognition of the importance we place on our relations with Asia, we allocated an additional $2 million to the ASIA 2000 programmes.

Trade Minister Philip Burdon has led trade and investment opportunities missions to a number of your countries. He hopes to lead further missions in the coming year.

The Asia 2000 Fellowship allows New Zealand business people to study an Asian language and gain work experience in Asia.

A journalists programme will, I hope, encourage more New Zealand journalists to visit Asia and write about it.

While New Zealand has an "Asia First" policy, it is not an "Asia First and Last" policy. New Zealand is an international player. And our relationship with ASEAN extends to the international sphere. We have many mutual interests and concerns.

You gave us prompt and much valued support for our UN Security Council membership bid. Our first seven months on the Council have been hectic. There have been many pressing and serious issues to consider. We will continue to consult closely with ASEAN on Security Council matters and to take account of your views and concerns in our approach on the Council.

The safety of UN personnel serving on difficult, demanding and sometimes dangerous assignments has become an issue of real concern to all of us who provide peace-keeping personnel. New Zealand has requested that this be included on the agenda for this year's General Assembly. Our missions in New York should consult on the issues involved. But we would welcome your support for our proposal that they be addressed by the Assembly.

Cambodia is another issue where we have cooperated closely. Recent developments have been encouraging. We all seek lasting stability and prosperity in Cambodia. I know we will continue to work together to help Cambodia achieve this over the coming months.

This is the last PMC at which Malaysia will be our Dialogue Partner. I would like to record special personal thanks to Datuk Abdullah Badawi and his officials for the skilled management and stimulus given to our dialogue relationship over the last two years. New Zealand has appreciated your efforts. We particularly valued the 1992 dialogue meeting held in Langkawi, for both its content and its style. Before you "quit" we look forward to a further dialogue meeting - at senior officials level - with you all in New Zealand next March. There after we look forward too to working with the Philippines as our Dialogue Partner from the middle of next year.

As I said at the outset the New Zealand/ ASEAN relationship is in good shape. I am sure it will remain so as we continue to sustain and enhance it.