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State Dinner hosted by the Right Honourable Dame Patsy Reddy, Governor-General of New Zealand
from Collected Speeches from the visit by President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins to New Zealand 2017
Speech by Michael D. Higgins President of Ireland
Government House, Wellington
Tuesday, 24th October, 2017
Tá an-áthas orm a bheith libh anseo sa Nua-Shéalainn. Is mór an onóir é dom féin agus do Saidhbhín an deis a bheith againn cuairt a thabhairt ar an tír álainn seo.
Dame Reddy, thank you for hosting a State Dinner on the occasion of this State Visit to New Zealand. Sabina and I are deeply honoured. It is a privilege and a pleasure to visit your beautiful country and this evening is a magnificent start to what I am sure will be a wonderful experience for us.
This visit is a celebration of the many personal, historic and cultural links between two small island nations at opposite ends of the world. We are both small outward-looking island nations, perhaps at opposite ends of the globe but sharing a common outlook in most matters. Whether it be how we manage our economies, how we value rules-based international relations or even our mutual love of Rugby.
Distance has not made us strangers to each other, nor should it and I am pleased to acknowledge the presence and culture of the first arrivals, their culture and ancestors – those who were here before our first Irish. Irish people have been in New Zealand since the start of European settlement here and continue to come here today to visit, work, study and seek out new opportunities. We have also welcomed many New Zealanders to Ireland, particularly tourists and the young people availing of the Working Holiday Visa programme, which offers them a fantastic opportunity to really experience Irish life. I hope many more New Zealanders continue to visit us in future.
I would like to thank you and the people of New Zealand for the warm welcome you have accorded to Irish citizens over the years. Thousands of Irish people have made this country their home over the past few centuries and the people of Ireland take great pride in the positive contribution they have made to New Zealand.
To name just a few, Irishman John Robert Godley founded Christchurch. Irishman William Hobson played a key role in the Treaty of Waitangi negotiations. We in Ireland continue to take a keen interest in New Zealand today. With approximately one in six New Zealanders claiming Irish ancestry, our histories are very much intertwined. I hope that our countries will be equally close into the future.
President Higgins addressing the State Dinner hosted by H.E. the Right Honourable Dame Patsy Reddy, Governor General of New Zealand, and H.E. Sir David Gascoigne
At our meeting earlier today, I was very pleased to announce the Irish Government’s decision to open an embassy in New Zealand, which will deepen our friendship, strengthen our cooperation and further develop our trade and economic links. New Zealand’s decision earlier this year that it will open a resident Embassy in Dublin in the near future is also an indication of the strength of our relationship.
Agriculture, agri-business and agritechnology are of course of great importance to both the Irish and New Zealand economies. I was very pleased to see that New Zealand Trade and Enterprise had a stand at this year’s Ploughing Championships in Tullamore. Enterprise Ireland of course has been a regular at the Fieldays in Hamilton for over a decade.
New Zealand is an important and growing trade partner for Ireland, particularly in a post-Brexit environment. There are many opportunities for New Zealand companies in Ireland. Likewise, New Zealand is an increasingly important market for Irish companies both in its own right and as a base for the Asia Pacific region.
The close working relationship between Ireland and New Zealand across the range of issues associated with disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation is very important to us. We share the same principled approach and historic commitment to disarmament.
We appreciate very much your stance on nuclear disarmament, your strong voice during negotiations on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons earlier this year, as well as your co-sponsorship of the resolution which gave the conference its mandate.
I know that a love of sport is also something the people of Ireland and New Zealand have in common. This summer, Ireland was thrilled to host the Women’s Rugby World Cup. New Zealand, of course, did rather well!
Ireland is bidding to host the Rugby World Cup in 2023. A few weeks ago, a crowd of 82,000 filled Croke Park for the All-Ireland Football Final. I’m looking forward to seeing the same ground filled with 82,000 rugby fans for a World Cup final, when maybe, just maybe, Ireland can edge out the All Blacks for a second time!
Once again, Governor-General Reddy, it is an honour for Sabina and I to be here this evening and we are very much looking forward to exploring as much of this amazing country as we can. A week’s visit is of course far too short but we will make the most of the time we have.
In thanking you for your welcome to Sabina and I and to our compatriots, I would like to take this opportunity to raise a toast:
“To Her Majesty the Queen and to the People of New Zealand.”
President Higgins addressing the State Dinner hosted by H.E. the Right Honourable Dame Patsy Reddy, Governor General of New Zealand, and H.E. Sir David Gascoigne
