Opening remarks by the co-chair to the  2nd Korea-NZ Business Roundtable, Seoul, 6 July 2010
Graeme Harrison, Chairman, NZ International Business Forum

Prime Minister
Dr SaKong
Dr Kyung Tae Lee
Distinguished delegates

An-nyong-ha-se-yo !

It is a pleasure to be back again in Seoul and to be meeting with members of the Korean International Trade Association at our second Roundtable.

I am proud also to be joined on this podium by the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Hon John Key, who is making his first visit to Korea at the invitation of President Lee Myung Bak.

I am grateful to you, Dr SaKong, for your remarks and for the warm welcome you have given me and my delegation to this great city of Seoul.

I am conscious that this meeting takes places as we recall sixty years since the outbreak of hostilities on the Korean peninsula which devastated this nation.

New Zealand was proud to play a part in helping secure a future for the Korean people.

No-one visiting Seoul today can fail to be impressed by the way in which the Korean people have taken hold of that future and built a modern, sophisticated nation at the forefront of innovation, technology and sustainability.

Korea continues to face challenges to its security and I am sure Prime Minister Key will be expressing to President Lee New Zealand's full support at this time.

Today also Korea is assuming a greater leadership role on the world stage, one which befits the strength of its economy.

We will be particularly interested in the course of our Roundtable to hear about Korea's plans as G20 Chair leading up to the Seoul G20 Summit in November.

Our meeting today takes place against the backdrop of a global economy which has improved greatly since we met in June last year.

Korea in particular is leading the way for a return to strong economic growth in the region and our meeting will focus on some of the implications for business that this new growth implies.

In June 2009 our countries commenced negotiations towards a free trade agreement.

We continue to have great hopes for this agreement and we urge our negotiators to bring their work to a successful conclusion as soon as possible.

The FTA between New Zealand and Korea needs to be seen against the background of increasing economic integration in the region.

Both Korea and New Zealand are negotiating with essentially the same partners: it makes sense therefore to complete our own negotiation and use it as a stepping stone towards a wider regional agreement whether through APEC or other avenues.

As well as bringing down barriers to expanded trade and investment, an FTA will focus new commercial attention on the possibilities in the relationship including in areas such as information technology, health services, green growth and clean technologies.

We will be exploring some of these possibilities further in our agenda today.

"Innovation, growth, opportunity"" is the theme of this 2 ^nd Korea NZ Business Roundtable.

I am sure that the sense of common commitment, mutual endeavour and determination that marked the beginning of our friendship sixty years ago will assist us as we work to develop the next phase of our partnership.

I thank you Dr SaKong and your colleagues once again for your warm welcome to Korea and for all the arrangements that have been made for us. 

I am looking forward to our discussions and encourage you all to participate actively in our meeting today.