AMBASSADOR PAYS FAREWELL CALL ON PRIME MINISTER HELEN CLARK

C O N F I D E N T I A L WELLINGTON 000385



SIPDIS



E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/13/2033

TAGS: PREL, US, NZ, KS, XU XV

SUBJ: AMBASSADOR PAYS FAREWELL CALL ON PRIME MINISTER HELEN CLARK



Classified by AMBASSADOR William McCormick, reasons 1.5 (b) and (d).



1. (C) The Ambassador called on Prime Minister Helen Clark November

13 to say farewell as he prepares to conclude his assignment as

Ambassador and as the Prime Minister prepares to step down sometime

in the next few days. The Ambassador thanked the Prime Minister for

everything she has done to improve the bilateral relationship, noting

that the two governments together had changed the relationship in

what had sometimes been a difficult environment by focusing on common

concerns. The Prime Minister agreed, saying that we had made

considerable progress together. She thanked the Ambassador for all he

had done and asked the Ambassador to convey her thanks to the

President for his friendship. She praised the Secretary, Assistant

Secretary Hill, DAS Davies and former ANP Director McGann for their

contributions.



2. (C) The Ambassador said that he would remain interested in the

Pacific after he left his post. He said that the Pacific Island

Countries face enormous governance challenges and New Zealand is

"carrying the load" in working with those countries. The Prime

Minister observed that she was particularly concerned about Fiji. The

United States is now paying more attention to the Pacific than at any

time since World War II and that needs to continue. Both agreed that

they shared a serious concern about the growth of dollar diplomacy in

the region, particularly by the Chinese who often step in when New

Zealand and others try to persuade PIC governments to take necessary

but unpalatable steps. The Ambassador said that he had been

disappointed at the praise Samoa recently lavished on Chinese

construction projects, including a lavish but impractical swimming

pool complex, while giving much less attention to the forty years of

Peace Corps contributions to the islands economy and society.



3. (C) PM Clark said she had recently been very disappointed that

the Tongan candidate, Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Viliami Ta'u tangi,

to be elected Regional Director of the World Health Organization

Western Pacific regional Office had been defeated. New Zealand had

agreed to support the decision of the Pacific Island Forum to vote in

favor of the Tongan candidate only to discover that many PIF

representatives, including the PIF chairman, eventually voted against

the Tongan candidate. It was clear to her, the PM said, that money

had likely played a role in changing their votes to favor the

successful Korean candidate.



4. (C) The Ambassador expressed his hope that Clark would stay

involved in international issues. She responded that she was looking

for opportunities but recognized that the prime minister of a small

country might not always be in great demand. The Ambassador responded

that Kiwis always told him they were a small country, but he never

heard this from Washington because the U.S. saw them as a significant

partner. Clark said that she hoped New Zealand was seen as a friendly

Western country that sometimes can do things the United States

cannot.



McCormick