Hon Murray McCully
Minister of Foreign Affairs
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8 July 2015
New WTO Permanent Representative announced
Foreign Minister Murray McCully has announced diplomat Vangelis Vitalis as New Zealand’s next Ambassador and Permanent
Representative to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Geneva.
“The WTO is of fundamentally import to New Zealand and WTO rules underpin the network of free trade agreements that New
Zealand has successfully negotiated over the last two decades,” Mr McCully says.
“As Permanent Representative, Mr Vitalis will have the job of ensuring New Zealand’s interests are maintained in current
efforts to revive Doha Round talks and in dispute settlement cases.
“He will also oversee our input into the Trade and Services and Environmental Goods negotiations in Geneva, and ensure
that New Zealand is well placed to benefit from joining the WTO Government procurement Agreement,” Mr McCully says.
Mr Vitalis was most recently New Zealand Ambassador to the European Union, NATO and Sweden.
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