Federal Minister Peter Altmaier discusses current trade policy issues with New Zealand Trade Minister Damien O'Connor

Federal Minister Peter Altmaier and New Zealand's new Trade Minister Damien O'Connor today exchanged views via video conference on German-New Zealand economic relations and on developments in global trade policy in the wake of the Covid 19 pandemic.

Minister Altmaier said: "New Zealand is an important partner for us in the Indo-Pacific region. We share many fundamental values and our countries have been working together intensively for many years. I am therefore pleased about exchanging views with my New Zealand counterpart Minister O'Connor and continuing our cooperation in the future. Tackling the coronavirus crisis remains a key focus for both our countries and the crisis shows even more clearly the importance of free trade and open markets. Now more than ever we need to consistently strengthen the multilateral trade regime. The current negotiations on the free trade agreement between the EU and New Zealand can make a valuable contribution to this.

Trade between Germany and New Zealand (in German) has developed positively in recent years. For example, German exports amounted to €1.71 billion in 2019, and German imports to €672 million. Beyond the bilateral relations between the two countries, New Zealand is an important partner in multilateral organisations and, like Germany, is committed to strengthening multilateralism.