New Zealand lawmakers visit Taiwan

Taipei, April 13 (CNA) Members of a New Zealand cross-party parliamentarian are visiting Taiwan from Sunday through Friday to meet with President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) and other senior officials, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said.

The delegation from New Zealand's All-Party Parliamentary Group on Taiwan is jointly led by Stuart Smith MP, the senior whip of the National Party, and Labour Party MP Tangi Utikere, MOFA said in a news release.

Also in the delegation are NZ First Party whip Jamie Arbuckle MP, ACT Party MP Cameron Luxton, Labour Party MP Helen White, and National Party MPs Greg Fleming and Hamish Campbell, MOFA said.

Taiwan's top envoy to New Zealand, Joanne Ou (歐江安), accompanied the delegation on the Taipei trip, as shown in a MOFA-released photograph.

The seven-member delegation of representatives from New Zealand's major political parties will meet with Lai as well as attend banquets hosted by Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) and Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), MOFA said.

The New Zealand All-Party Parliamentary Group was launched in March 2023 and is meant to "support Taiwan, deepen cordial bilateral relations and economic and trade exchanges, and defend the security and stability of the Indo-Pacific," according to MOFA.