French Minister to meet with Chris Finlayson

M. Kader Arif, French Minister of Veterans’ Affairs will travel to New Zealand on November 28th and 29th for an official visit dedicated to further talks and cooperation on the subject of First World War centenary programme, which will mark a major part of French-New Zealand relations from 2014 to 2018.

During his first visit to New Zealand, the French Minister will meet with his New Zealand counterpart, Minister Chris Finlayson, lead minister for New Zealand’s First World War centenary programme. They will continue discussions initiated in Paris last October when, invited by M. Arif, M. Finlayson attended the international seminar for the First World War centenary.

The meeting, taking place in Auckland on November 28th will be followed by a formal signature of a letter of intention by both ministers.

During his day in Auckland, Minister Arif will also be visiting Mount Roskill Grammar school, which is taking part in the project Shared memories, a France-New Zealand education programme to commemorate the First World War.

Travelling to Wellington on November 29th, Minister Arif will lay a wreath at the National War Memorial in remembrance of the New Zealand soldiers who fell on the Western front during the First World War. He is also invited to discover the First World War collections digitalization project at the National Library and will visit Wellington College where he will meet with the students involved in the project Shared Memories. In the evening, the Minister will host a function on the French frigate ‘Prairial’.

Minister Arif’s visit to New Zealand follows the launch of the commemoration in France involving a delegation of All Blacks who participated in the rekindling of the flame ceremony underneath the Arc de Triomphe.

On this occasion, Minister Arif paid homage to the New Zealand soldiers: « France owes its history to this engagement too” expressed the Minister, referring to the 128,000 New Zealand soldiers who came to fight on the French side. He also paid tribute to the 12,500 New Zealand soldiers who fell on the Western Front; a reminder that New Zealand also paid a heavy price during this war.

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