New Zealand ministers to visit Pacific island countries

Wellington : New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters, and Health Minister and Minister for Pacific Peoples Shane Reti will visit Tonga, Cook Islands and Samoa this week to reaffirm connections with the region.

"New Zealand enjoys strong and long-standing relationships with our Pacific partners -- especially in Polynesia, where we have close political, economic, and people-to-people ties," Foreign Minister Peters said on Monday as quoted by Xinhua news agency report.

New Zealand has deep and longstanding cultural links with the Cook Islands, Samoa and Tonga, Reti said, adding that he will discuss the shared issues the communities face in New Zealand and the Pacific, particularly in health.

The two Ministers will meet with the Prime Ministers in the Pacific countries and some of their counterparts during a visit from February 6 to 10.