Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

NZ trade minister in Saudi blunder

NZ trade minister in Saudi blunder

New Zealand's Trade Minister is bound for Saudi Arabia on a controversial trade mission later this week, but isn't sure why he is going.
Damien O'Connor will visit the United Kingdom, Belgium, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia on a fortnight-long trip beginning on Sunday.

In Europe, he will progress trade deals with the UK, which has been agreed in-principle, and the European Union, still a work in progress.

En route home, Mr O'Connor will head to two Middle Eastern nations with questionable human rights records.

Asked whether he expected to encounter criticism for going to Saudi Arabia, Mr O'Connor said it was important to thank countries involved in last year's airlift of New Zealand nationals from Afghanistan.

"We have to acknowledge and thank them for their efforts that they have made to help us with extraction of people," he said.

However, as Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials made clear after his comments, Saudi Arabia wasn't involved in the airlift: it was neighbouring states Qatar and UAE.

And in any case, Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta has already visited the Gulf states to thank them for acting as intermediary nations for hundreds of New Zealanders seeking to flee Afghanistan as the Taliban re-established control.

The blunder is not Mr O'Connor's first.

Last year, he said Australia should "show respect" to China and would be more successful in trading with the superpower if it followed New Zealand's lead.

Mr O'Connor said Saudi Arabia's human rights record would not deter his trip.

"There are always issues that are raised and I'm sure they will come up but they won't be a barrier to what is a regular ministerial engagement," he said.

The minister's official itinerary in Riyadh includes a joint UAE-NZ ministerial meeting, the first since 2018, and a meeting with the secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

New Zealand started talks with the GCC - consisting of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain - back in 2007 over a free trade deal, but the discussions are yet to bear fruit.

New Zealand exported goods and services including dairy and meat worth $NZ2 billion ($A1.85 billion) in 2017 to the region, making it NZ's eighth largest trading partner.

The trip will precede a visit by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to the UK and Europe later this year as New Zealand seeks to remove barriers to trade.

"New Zealand is a trading nation (and) our trade agenda has very good momentum," Mr O'Connor said.

"We are now reconnecting with a post-COVID world and unlocking opportunities that will drive our economic recovery from the pandemic."
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×