Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s response to Israeli strikes against Iran

Israel’s strikes against Iran will form the backdrop to New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s upcoming trip to China.

Speaking in the immediate aftermath of the strikes at a scheduled press conference on Friday, Luxon characterised the strikes by Israel as ‘potentially catastrophic for the Middle East’, observing ‘the last thing this region needs is more instability’.

Geoffrey Miller: Trump victory could spark New Zealand rethink at APEC in Peru

Donald Trump’s sweeping election victory has set the stage for this year’s APEC summit in Peru.

At least 14 leaders have so far confirmed their attendance at the leaders’ summit in Lima from November 15-16. China’s Xi Jinping, Japan’s new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Canada’s Justin Trudeau will all be in Peru – as will New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.

Geoffrey Miller: NZ’s breakthrough free trade deal with the Gulf

New Zealand’s new free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council is a major win for both sides.

Todd McClay, New Zealand’s trade minister, announced the long-awaited deal on Thursday with his counterparts in Doha, Qatar. It is a remarkable, yet also surprising sudden success: the genesis of the agreement lies in talks that began in 2006.

Geoffrey Miller: How the US election could affect New Zealand foreign policy

Change is coming to America.

Next month’s elections are likely to pave the way for an overhaul of US foreign policy– regardless of whether Donald Trump or Kamala Harris wins the presidency.

Geoffrey Miller: NZ’s trade deal with the UAE could unlock Middle East

New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are moving closer together – at record pace.

Just a year after agreeing to enter initial talks, Wellington and Abu Dhabi have concluded negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (or CEPA for short).

The deal will go down as one of New Zealand’s fastest trade negotiations. It is arguably the biggest breakthrough for New Zealand’s relations with the Middle East since negotiations began in 2006 on a wider free trade agreement (FTA) with the six-country Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

Geoffrey Miller: Christopher Luxon’s hawkish foreign policy address in Sydney

New Zealand is not just on the same page, but is now in lockstep with Australia.

That was the general theme of keynote foreign policy address by New Zealand’s Prime Minister to a Sydney thinktank on Thursday.

Christopher Luxon’s 20-minute speech took a decisively hawkish tone.

Geoffrey Miller: How will New Zealand respond to Middle East escalation?

As tensions in the Middle East rise further, New Zealand’s approach to the region continues to evolve.

Neither Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, nor foreign minister Winston Peters were immediately keen to comment publicly about Israel’s assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand forges deeper ties with NATO

Christopher Luxon is finding his foreign policy feet.

Now eight months into the job, New Zealand’s Prime Minister is in Washington DC this week to attend the NATO summit.

It is the third year in a row that Wellington has been invited to the annual gathering of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the West’s premier political and military alliance.

Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s geopolitical friendly fire has its limits

The gloves are off.

That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers.

Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand.

Geoffrey Miller: Aukus or not, New Zealand’s foreign policy is being remade

This could be a watershed week for New Zealand’s international relations.

Winston Peters, the foreign minister, is heading to Washington DC for a full week of meetings.

The surprisingly lengthy trip just happens to coincide with a major trilateral summit of leaders from the United States, Japan and the Philippines.

Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand

Timing is everything.

And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment.

The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017.

Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s huge shift in the Middle East

New Zealand is reshaping its foreign policy via the Middle East.

A decision to provide intelligence support for future US and UK airstrikes on Yemen is highly symbolic.

The Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon, announced the deployment of the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) troops to support the US-led military response to the attacks on commercial shipping from Houthis in Yemen that began on November 19.

Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine

New Zealand’s international relations are under new management.

And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda.

As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he left off. Peters sought to align New Zealand more closely with the United States under his ‘Pacific Reset’ policy that he launched while serving as foreign minister under Jacinda Ardern’s Labour-New Zealand First coalition government from 2017-2020.

Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s strategy for COP28 in Dubai

The COP28 countdown is on.

Over 100 world leaders are expected to attend this year’s UN Climate Change Conference in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which starts next Thursday.

Among the VIPs confirmed for the Dubai summit are the UK’s Rishi Sunak and Brazil’s Lula da Silva – along with King Charles and Pope Francis.

On the other hand, Joe Biden and Xi Jinping are both unlikely to join in – and neither is Australia’s Anthony Albanese.

Geoffrey Miller: The foreign affairs puzzle facing New Zealand’s new Government

New Zealand’s new Government will need to hit the ground running on foreign affairs.

Determining New Zealand’s full response to the war in Gaza and the fallout in the wider Middle East will be the first major test for whoever takes the foreign minister’s role.

New Zealand has been run by a Labour caretaker administration since elections were held on October 14. But the final results are now in – and once coalition negotiations are out of the way, a new right-leaning government will take office.

Geoffrey Miller: How will New Zealand handle the new war in the Middle East?

The weekend’s surprise and brutal attack on Israel by Hamas fighters has the potential to reshape the Middle East – and will only further increase global geopolitical instability. The initial 36 hours of the assault by Hamas on Israel have already taken at least 600 Israeli lives – easily making it the bloodiest time for Israel since the 1973 Yom Kippur War. In addition, dozens of Israelis have been kidnapped and taken back to Gaza to be used as bargaining chips. While there will be a range of motivations for why Hamas chose to act in the way it did now, the symbolic timing of Hamas’ assault – almost 50 years to the day after Yom Kippur – is unlikely to be a coincidence.

Geoffrey Miller: Who will be New Zealand’s next foreign minister?

Change is coming.

A shakeup of the ministers responsible for New Zealand’s international relations seems almost guaranteed, irrespective of the country’s election result on October 14.

Coalition politics are likely to play a key role in appointments related to foreign affairs.

Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand changes tack in the Gulf

A sign of things to come.

That might be the best way to interpret New Zealand trade minister Damien O’Connor’s recent foray into the Middle East.

O’Connor stopped off in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi on a brief, yet important trip that comes as New Zealand prepares for its October 14 election.

Geoffrey Miller: Should New Zealand build bridges with the BRICS?

The BRICS are back.

Johannesburg will this week host the 15th annual summit of the BRICS, an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The loose grouping may be about to become tighter – and bigger.

Some 40 countries have expressed interest in joining the BRICS, which already represent over 40 per cent of the world’s population and 30 per cent of global GDP when measured using purchasing power parity (PPP).

Geoffrey Miller: Antony Blinken’s endgame for New Zealand

Antony Blinken is heading down under.

The US Secretary of State’s visit to New Zealand and Australia this week comes as the two countries jointly host the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

New Zealand foreign minister Nanaia Mahuta has highlighted the potential for ‘good old-fashioned sports diplomacy’ – and the Secretary is scheduled to attend the United States vs. Netherlands match in Wellington on Thursday afternoon.

But the travel is more than just a chance to take in a game.