WELLINGTON (Pacnews) — The New Zealand government of Prime Minister Helen Clark has unveiled a new aid agency for the region that will focus primarily on poverty elimination and education assistance.
The New Zealand Agency for International Development, which replaces the New Zealand Official Development Assistance program, was officially launched at Parliament House in Wellington yesterday by New Zealand’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Phil Goff.
Goff said NZAID would further improve the effectiveness of the New Zealand government’s development assistance programs, while he ensured the New Zealand public that money allocated would be well spent.
“As a nation, we have a strong sense of fairness and decency and I believe that New Zealanders will have a strong sense of empathy with those receiving assistance when they understand what is being done by NZAID, why, and with what results,” Goff said.
The minister said the agency’s work would concentrate mainly on the South Pacific region, where the New Zealand government has close established links.
