Caleb
Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific
New Zealand
Foreign Minister Winston says the Indo-Pacific region is
under the most “sustained pressure” it has experienced in
the past eight decades.
Peters made the comments in a
speech at the Swedish Institute for International Affairs in
Stockholm on Monday, calling on Nordic nations to be more
engaged in the Pacific.
He said the region is
continually becoming increasingly contested.
“Island
nations are seeing their ocean of peace under threat in ways
they are mostly powerless to stop,” Peters said.
“So,
we believe those countries like the Nordics, countries who
share our values need to be more engaged in our region in
support of our neighbouring Pacific family of nations. They
need your help.”
Peters departed New Zealand on 19
October for the United Kingdom and the Nordic
region.
He is currently in Stockholm, attending the
first-ever New Zealand-Nordic 5 Foreign Ministers
Meeting.
Prior to leaving, Peters said there were few
countries in the world more like-minded with New Zealand
than the Nordic states.
In the speech, Peters said
both New Zealand and Nordic nations are relatively small in
population, but have significant land-based and maritime
interests.
He said New Zealand is a NATO partner
country and is one of the Indo-Pacific Four – including
Australia, Japan and South Korea – that are consulted
regularly.
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“This helps us to raise the profile of
shared strategic challenges in the Euro-Atlantic and
Indo-Pacific, and to drive enhanced cooperation in priority
areas, including cyber, artificial intelligence, and defence
capability.”
Following his speech, the Minister had a
conversation with Swedish Institute of International Affairs
Director Jakob Hallgren – and then answered questions from
the audience.
Topics included NZ-Nordic relations,
this week’s APEC Leaders’ Meeting in South Korea, how
the strategic… pic.twitter.com/0txwCgiL3C
—
Winston Peters (@NewZealandMFA) October
28,
2025
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