Auckland,
New Zealand
City Profile
New Zealand is a country of rare seismic beauty: glacial mountains, fast-flowing rivers, clear lakes, hissing geysers and boiling mud. There are also abundant forest reserves, long, deserted beaches and a variety of fauna, such as the kiwi, endemic to its shores. New Zealand is in the South Pacific Ocean, 1600 km southeast of Australia. It stretches 1600 km from north to south and consists of two large islands and a smattering of smaller islands. The North Island and the South Island are the two major land masses; the next largest is Stewart Island, which lies directly beneath the South Island. The North Island has a number of large volcanoes (including the currently active Mount Ruapehu) and highly active thermal areas, while the South Island boasts the Southern Alps - a spine of magnificent mountains running almost its entire length.
Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand, is almost enclosed by water and covered in volcanic hills. Like Sydney, Auckland has a spectacular harbor and bridge (and many yachting enthusiasts) which has earned it the sobriquet `City of Sails'. A magnet for the people of the South Pacific islands, Auckland now has the largest concentration of Polynesians in the world. Points of interest include the Auckland Museum, which houses a memorable display of Maori artifacts and culture, and the Underwater World & Antarctic Encounter, a unique display of ocean and exploration activities.
To learn more about Auckland, visit www.aucklandnz.com.
SATURDAY,
SEPTEMBER 11
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
Arrival
Auckland International Airport
Upon his arrival, the President will be greeted at the airport by Prime Minister of New Zealand Jenny Shipley, Governor General Sir Michael Hardie-Boys, and U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand Josiah Beeman. A Maori welcoming ceremony will also be held. The Maori are the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand.
From the airport, the President will travel to the Stamford Plaza Hotel. After several hours of down time, he will proceed to the Governor General's residence.
Bilateral Meeting
with President Jiang Zemin of China
Governor General's Residence
At this meeting, the first between the two leaders since the President's trip to China last year, President Clinton and President Jiang will discuss the full range of political, economic and security issues that define our relations.
For more information on China, visit the State Department's China Home Page.
The President will then return to the Stamford Plaza Hotel for the duration of the evening.
SUNDAY,
SEPTEMBER 12
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
Keynote Address
to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Summit
Louis
Vuitton Center, New Zealand National Maritime Museum
The CEO Summit is the latest in a series of private-sector events that were created surrounding the Seattle APEC Summit in 1993. Following the breakfast, President Clinton will be introduced by New Zealand's Ambassador to the United States, Jim Bolger. The President's remarks will focus on Asia's economic recovery and the necessity to press ahead with further economic reform. President Clinton will also discuss how to make the rules of the international trading system fairer to all of the nations at the Seattle World Trade Organization round.
For more information on the economic vision arising from the 1993 APEC Summit, visit the APEC web site.
Boat Tour with
America's Cup Team and Photo Opportunity
Hobson Wharf, New Zealand National Maritime Museum
After the President makes remarks, he will proceed outdoors a short distance to the waterfront, known as the Western Viaduct, where all five American syndicate boats competing in the America's Cup will be docked.
He will meet the crewmembers from all five U.S. entries and have an opportunity to inspect their boats. Dyer Jones, Director of the America's Cup Challenge Association, will make introductions.
The first round of challenge races for the Cup begins on October 18 and is scheduled to last until late January. In addition to the five American teams, eight other teams from Britain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Japan, Australia, Russia, and Spain will compete to challenge the New Zealand team. The America's Cup Match is scheduled to begin on February 10, 2000, with the winning challenger to take on the New Zealanders. The first boat to win five of nine races takes home the Cup.
To learn more about America's Cup, visit www.americascup2000.org.nz.
Trilateral Meeting
with President Kim Dae-Jung of South Korea and Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi
of Japan
Stamford Ballroom, Stamford Plaza Hotel
President Clinton, President Kim, and Prime Minister Obuchi will discuss strategies for managing relations with North Korea as well as key economic issues facing APEC and the World Trade Organization.
For more information, visit the State Department's web pages on Japan and Korea.
Bilateral Meeting
with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
Merilion Room, Stamford Plaza Hotel
The President's first meeting with the new Russian Prime Minister will focus on continuing his predecessors' work of reforming Russia's economy and strengthening security cooperation between our two countries.
APEC Conference
- Leaders' Welcome and Agenda Briefing
Tasman Two, Carlton Hotel
A Maori ceremony will be held to officially welcome the Leaders. The Maori name for welcome is "powhiri." The ceremony is intended to imbue the guests with "tapu" (sacredness) so that they can mingle as if they were "people of the land."
A Leaders-only agenda briefing will follow the ceremony. At the conclusion, Prime Minister Shipley will escort the Leaders to the Coromandel Room for a dialogue with the APEC Business Advisory Council.
To learn more about APEC '99, visit www.apec.govt.nz.
APEC Conference
- Leaders' Dialogue with ABAC
Ballroom, Carlton Hotel
The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) was founded in 1995 to advise APEC leaders on private-sector views of APEC policies and issues. Each economy has three business representatives in ABAC. The U.S. representatives are General Motors Chairman John Smith, Jr.; J. Gary Burkhead of FMR Corporation; and Paul Song, CEO of ARIS Corporation.
For more information on ABAC, visit the APEC '99 web site.
APEC Dinner
Great Hall, Auckland Town Hall
The Auckland Town Hall, located in the center of Auckland, was built in 1911 and is the city's prime historical building. It has recently undergone major renovation and restoration. The Great Hall, within the Town Hall, is a replica of the Heues Gewandhaus (concert hall) in Leipzig, once regarded as one of the world's finest concert halls.
There will be over three hundred invited guests, including ministers, members of the business community, the New Zealand Cabinet, and community leaders. After the dinner, a cultural performance will be held.
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
Leaders' Retreat
- Session I
Leaders Meeting Room, Auckland Museum
Prime Minister Shipley will follow the tradition of an informal, off-site discussion among the Leaders without staff, which President Clinton initiated at Blake Island in 1993. The venue for the meeting will be the Auckland Museum, which is located on a hilltop in the center of a large park called the Auckland Domain. In addition to being home to some of New Zealand's most significant artifacts from both Maori and Pacific Island culture, the museum is the region's most prominent war memorial. It was commissioned and opened in 1929. The ceiling of the foyer is decorated with the flags of the former British Empire. During World War II, U.S. troops were billeted in the Domain, and there is an extensive collection of artifacts which detail America's sacrifices during the war.
The morning session will focus on two topics: Lessons Learned from the Financial Crisis -- Strengthening Markets; and APEC and the Wider World, Including the WTO.
Class Photo
Lawn, Auckland Museum
Leaders' Lunch
Winter Garden Pavilion, Auckland Museum
After the group photograph, the Leaders will proceed to the Winter Garden Pavilion, a one-story wooden frame structure set in a garden surrounded by palm trees. The Leaders then go to the Tea Terrace for pre-luncheon drinks. The lunch will be held in the Green Room.
Leaders' Retreat
- Session II
Leaders Meeting Room, Auckland Museum
The retreat will resume in the Auckland Museum. The afternoon agenda will focus on communicating the importance and benefits of APEC.
Reading of the
Declaration
Museum Steps, Auckland Museum
At the conclusion of the afternoon session, the Leaders will assemble at the entrance to the museum where Prime Minister Shipley will present the Declaration. The Declaration will summarize the Summit's achievements and preview APEC's future agenda.
QUEENSTOWN, NEW ZEALAND
The President will spend his day off at the Millbrook Resort in Queenstown. No official events will be held.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15
CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND
Arrival
Christchurch International Airport
The President will arrive in the morning and depart immediately for the International Antarctica Centre. There he will be given a brief tour of the Centre before giving his remarks.
Remarks to the
People of New Zealand
International Antarctic Centre
The President will give remarks to approximately 5,000 people on the lawn. New Zealand's most famous citizen, Sir Edmund Hillary, will introduce him. Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay were the first men to reach the summit of Mount Everest on May 29, 1953. Hillary also was the first to make a land crossing of Antarctic in 1958. The President's speech will highlight our successful efforts to protect the global environment and deliver a positive message about the international community tackling future challenges, including climate change.
International cooperation to protect Antarctica is an extraordinary success story. Under the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, the continent is reserved exclusively for peaceful purposes. The Environment Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty entered into force in 1998, after President Clinton's leadership led to U.S. ratification of the instrument. Under the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer, the world community is making impressive progress toward phasing out the chemicals that create an enormous "ozone hole" over Antarctica during each Antarctic spring.
The U.S. and New Zealand have worked closely together on environmental issues such as climate change, biodiversity, and conservation.
The International Antarctic Centre is a large complex immediately adjacent to the Christchurch airport, about five miles from the city center. The Centre houses the headquarters, administrative center and supply warehouses for the U.S., New Zealand, and Italian Antarctic programs. The Centre itself is a private venture built in the mid-1980s to capitalize on Christchurch's status as the gateway to the Antarctic. It includes a commercially run visitors' centre which simulates Antarctic living conditions and depicts the history of Antarctic exploration.
The U.S. Antarctic Program is run by the National Science Foundation and supported by the U.S. Air Force and the New York Air National Guard. Nearly all Antarctic scientific and support personnel as well as all supplies and equipment pass through Christchurch enroute to U.S. bases in Antarctica. During the austral summer, the International Antarctic Centre supports about 3,000 men and women "on the ice." Two thousand five hundred of them are with the U.S. program, 300 with the New Zealand program and about 200 with the Italian program.
To learn more about the Centre, visit http://www.iceberg.co.nz.
Bilateral Meeting
with Prime Minister Shipley
Sign of the Takahe
The bilateral meeting will be held at the Sign of the Takahe, an old English-style restaurant built of stone in the Port Hills with a commanding view of Christchurch. The Sign of the Takahe is one of Christchurch's most famous landmarks. It was designed by Harry Ell, a Christchurch conservationist, Member of Parliament, and author of New Zealand's 1903 Scenery Preservation Act. Ell loved to hike in the hills above Christchurch, and designed the Sign of the Takahe as a teahouse for hikers and bird watchers. The Takahe is an upland bird found in New Zealand, similar to the Kiwi.
The Prime Minister may be accompanied by Foreign Minister Don McKinnon, Trade Minister Lockwood Smith, Environment Minister Upton Sinclair, and Private Secretary Alan Williams.
Joint Press Statement
with Prime Minister Shipley
Sign of the Takahe
After the bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Shipley, the President and the Prime Minister will proceed outside to an enclosed courtyard where each will offer brief remarks and take questions from the press.
Meeting with Opposition
Leader Helen Clarke
Millennium Hotel
The meeting with opposition Labour Party leader Helen Clarke will take place at the Millennium Hotel in the center of Christchurch. Dr. Clark is likely to be accompanied by Members of Parliament Michael Cohen and Phil Goff.
Gala Dinner with
Prime Minister Shipley of New Zealand
Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum
This black tie dinner, with 400 attendees, is scheduled to take place at the Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum in Christchurch. The Air Museum displays aircraft used by the Royal New Zealand Air Force over the years, including aircraft dating from World War II to the 1960s era A-4 Skyhawk jets currently in service. The Museum is located on the grounds of the former Wigram Air Base, a 15-minute drive south of central Christchurch.
Immediately following the Gala Dinner, the President will depart for the airport. After an eight-hour stopover at Hickam AFB in Hawaii, the President will continue on to Washington, D.C., arriving at Andrews AFB Thursday morning, September 16.
For more information, visit the web site of the Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum.
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