Manukau City Pacific Trade Delegation Update

Policy & Activities Committee Meeting –  Scheduled for 15 September 2009

Pacific Trade Delegation Update

Summary The purpose of this report is to provide a qualitative update to the committee on the recent Manukau City Pacific Trade Delegation led by His Worship the Mayor.  A future report will outline the quantitative outcomes of the delegation as businesses are still in the process of developing or finalising work resulting from the visit. The Manukau City Pacific Trade Delegation was approved by Council in June, minute no. CL/JUN/744/09, “1.       That the council endorses a joint Manukau City Council-NZPBC delegation led by His Worship the Mayor to Tonga, Samoa, and American Samoa in the latter half of 2009. 2.         That His Worship the Mayor, Deputy Mayor Gary Troup, Cr Arthur Anae, the Chief Executive Officer, one Director and two officers be approved to take part in the trade delegation.” The Manukau City Pacific Trade Delegation consisted of the Mayoral contingent and 22 businesses.  Businesses were selected from a list that was derived from invitations sent out by the New Zealand Pacific Business Council and New Zealand Trade & Enterprise.  The final list of businesses was a good mix of exporters, importers and investors.  Due diligence was carried out on the respective businesses to ensure viability and stability. The Manukau City Pacific Trade Delegation was well received in all three countries that were visited.  His Worship the Mayor (HWM), Councillors and the Chief Executive had productive and informative meetings with the Prime Minister of Tonga, Honourable Feleti Sevele; Prime Minister of Samoa, Honourable Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi and the Governor of American Samoa, Honourable Togiola TA Tulafono and attended a dinner hosted by the Head of State of Samoa His Highness Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese. All three leaders including the Head of State of Samoa were made aware of the changes to council structures in the Auckland region.  They were keen to progress developments of relationship agreements and action plans with Manukau leading up to a unitary council. The following were actions from these meetings: (i)               Tonga: A memorandum of cooperation is being developed to outline a relationship between the Kingdom of Tonga and the City of Manukau; (ii)              Samoa: A programme of action is being developed to progress the objectives outlined in the existing Memorandum of Co-operation; (iii)            American Samoa: Discussion around the development of a Friendship Agreement between the Territory of American Samoa and the City of Manukau. HWM, councillors, the CEO and officers met with the New Zealand High Commissioner for Tonga, Christine Bogle and the New Zealand High Commissioner for Samoa, Caroline Bilkey who is also the New Zealand Consul General for American Samoa.  The relationships with the High Commissioners were productive as they were able to highlight key issues and opportunities in their respective host countries. HWM, councillors, the CEO and council officers attended a total of 35 official meetings with Cabinet Ministers, Chief Executives and senior Government Official during the visit and a three (3) introductions to Cabinet Ministers.  At these meetings issues arising out of the Manukau/Auckland business community as well as those specific to the delegation were voiced directly to the decision makers.  These were well received and resulted in action or further discussions on those issues.  As a direct result of these meetings, delegates were encouraged by Ministers and CEOs to make direct contact with their departments for further discussion on business opportunities. Key areas of opportunity are: (i)               Infrastructure development relating to Tourism (ii)              Advocacy to government on better coordination of NZ Aid contributions and an outcomes focused approach for aid recipients (iii)            Opening up of export produce from the islands through advocacy to government on Biosecurity protocol development for Samoa and American Samoa modelled on NZ-Tongan protocol (iv)            Education resourcing and support for Early Childhood, Primary, Post Primary and Tertiary (v)             Environmental friendly systems and Waste management (vi)            Power supply alternatives (vii)           Opportunities through Broadband (viii)         Joint ventures and business investment (ix)            Sharing of knowledge and expertise available through council in areas such as: Roading, Environment, Economic Development, GIS, Regulatory and City Planning, etc The Mayoral led Trade Delegation to the Pacific was successful for the following reasons: (x)       the support and weight of the Manukau City Council and the New Zealand Pacific Business Council; (xi)       the efforts of His Worship the Mayor Len Brown, Deputy Mayor Gary Troup, Councillor Arthur Anae, Chief Executive Leigh Auton and councillor officers; (xii)      the positive and professional manner in which the business delegates went about their meetings, generating business opportunities and trade displays; (xiii)     the appropriate mix of businesses that were screened for the delegation; (xiv)     the support of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Trade and the High Commissions. The ongoing development and delivery on these relationships augurs well for the future prosperity of the city/region and the people and economies of the Pacific. Recommendation

1. That this report be received.
2. That His Worship the Mayor writes to the Prime Minister of Samoa Honourable Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, Prime Minister of Tonga Honourable Feleti Sevele and the Governor of American Samoa Honourable Togiola TA Tulafono to thank them for hosting the delegation.
3. That His Worship the Mayor writes to the Her Excellency Caroline Bilkey, High Commissioner to Samoa and Her Excellency Christine Bogle, High Commissioner to Tonga to thank them for hosting the delegation.
4. That His Worship the Mayor writes to the New Zealand Pacific Business Council to thank them for their support in the delegation.
5. That a further report on the outcomes of this Trade Delegation is reported to a future Committee meeting.

1.0       Background 1.1       Strategic relationships are those relationships with an organisation or individual that contributes significantly to the outcomes of Tomorrow’s Manukau and involve the Mayor, an elected member, CEO or senior manager. 1.2       Strategic relationships include those relationships that have Memorandums of Understanding (MoU), Memorandums of Cooperation (MoC), Letters of Agreement (LOA), Charters, Accords, etc., either at a regional, national and/ or international level, as well as those strategic relationships that are not formalised in writing. 1.3       The development of Strategic International Relationships meets the Thriving Economy objectives and outcomes sought through Tomorrow’s Manukau.  The emphasis of the relationships is to better position Manukau and our relationship partner through the interchange of information and experience as well as setting a solid foundation built on trust and confidence. 1.4       The development of Strategic International Relationships is solidly supported and actively pursued across the region and the country as opportunities to grow markets and connections around the world.  Council developed its first international relationship with Utsonomiya in Japan in 1982.  Since then it has developed Memoranda of Cooperation with the Cook Islands (2005), Samoa (2005) and French Polynesia (2006). 1.5       The Manukau City Pacific Trade Delegation is a formal avenue for the city through the leadership of His Worship the Mayor to identify potential opportunities and synergies for our business community and council to positively impact on the economic, environmental, social and cultural well beings of our Pacific neighbours. 1.6       In June 2009, Council approved a Mayor led Manukau City Trade Delegation to the Pacific in association with the New Zealand Pacific Business Council, minute no. CL/JUN/744/09, “1.       That the council endorses a joint Manukau City Council-NZPBC delegation led by His Worship the Mayor to Tonga, Samoa, and American Samoa in the latter half of 2009. 2.         That His Worship the Mayor, Deputy Mayor Gary Troup, Cr Arthur Anae, the Chief Executive Officer, one Director and two officers be approved to take part in the trade delegation.” 1.7       The dates of the visit 8 August to 18 August 2009 were confirmed in late June 2009 and Council officers developed a schedule of meetings and activities with officers from Foreign Affairs in Samoa and Tonga and the Chamber of Commerce in American Samoa. 2.0       Mayoral delegation business 2.1       His Worship the Mayor and the council delegation attended 35 official meetings that included meetings with the Prime Ministers of Samoa and Tonga and the Governor of American Samoa and a dinner with the Head of State of Samoa and introductions with three other cabinet ministers. 2.2       The following table shows official meetings and introductions that were held:

Tonga	Samoa	American Samoa
Prime Minister	Prime Minister	Governor
Minister of Finance	Head of State	Legislative Assembly
Minister of Transport	Minister of Finance	Dept of Commerce
Minister of Education, Women’s Affairs & Culture	Minister of Education, Sports & Culture	Development Bank
Minister of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries & Forestry (Introduction)	Minister of Works, Transport & Infrastructure (introduction)	Chamber of Commerce
Minister of Training, Employment, Youth & Sport	Minister of Women, Community & Social Development (introduction)
Legislative Assembly	CEO Finance
Development Bank Governor	CEO Natural Resources And Environment
CEO Foreign Affairs	CEO Commerce
CEO Commerce	Acting CEO Works
CEO Agriculture	Chamber of Commerce
CEO Finance	Samoan Tourism Agency
CEO Agriculture, Food, Fisheries & Forestry	GM Samoa Port Authority
Chamber of Commerce	NZ Aid
Tongan NZ Business Association	EuroAid
Tongan Tourism Agency	Samoa Association of Manufacturers & Exporters
	Women In Business Development
15 (16)	15 (17)	5

2.2       The Mayoral delegation co-hosted two functions with the High Commissions in Samoa and Tonga and was hosted by the Chambers of Commerce in Tonga, Samoa and American Samoa. 2.3       The meeting with the Prime Minister of Tonga highlighted the regard that Tonga has for Manukau city and its support post the events of 16 November 2006.  Prime Minister Sevele was keen to develop a Memorandum of Cooperation with Manukau to outline a process of cooperation.  Work on this is being developed pending approval from Council.  Important issues and opportunities such as Biosecurity, NZAid, Fisheries, Education, Finance, Investment and Tourism were discussed. 2.4       HWM, Councillors and the CEO expressed their condolences to the Prime Minister on the Ferry tragedy in Tonga.  The Mayoral delegation also attended the Memorial Service at the Port which was attended by the Minister of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and Forestry. 2.5       The meeting with the Prime Minister of Samoa prompted a high level of support from Government Ministers and opened many doors for the business delegates to engage directly with Ministers and CEOs of government departments.  Prime Minister Malielegaoi was keen for a formalised programme of action to be developed to support the intent of the existing Memorandum of Cooperation between Samoa and Manukau City.  Important issues and opportunities such as Biosecurity, Education, Finance, Investment environment, Tourism, Banking and Ports development were discussed. 2.6       The meeting with the Governor of American Samoa outlined the challenges that the Territory of American Samoa is going through.  It also highlighted the opportunities for sharing of knowledge and information, business investment and development potential of American Samoa.  Due to the political status and constraints of American Samoa it was suggested that a Friendship Agreement would be an appropriate relationship tool to develop the relationship between American Samoa and Manukau City.  Important issues and opportunities such as Biosecurity, Employment, Finance & Investment, Tourism, Infrastructure development and Business attraction were discussed. 2.7       The meetings with Ministers, Chief Executives and Senior Government officials in all three countries were informative and highlighted opportunities that could be pursued through a formalised agreement and programme of action. 2.8       Council officers are developing documents and supporting programmes of action for Tonga, Samoa and American Samoa that will be subject to Council approval and Auckland Transition Agency confirmation. 3.0       Business delegation 3.1       The business contingent of the Trade Delegation was made up of 22 businesses.  There were exporters looking to consolidate existing markets or identify new market opportunities.  There were importers looking at products and suppliers for their markets in New Zealand.  There were also investors looking at opportunities for joint ventures and rules of investment and financing options in the three countries. 3.2       Qualitative feedback from the respective businesses has been very positive with regards to the usefulness of the Mayoral led delegation for them as a business.  Feedback such as [insert quotes] was common place. 3.3       Businesses were impressed as to how quickly they were able to have meetings arranged with government Ministers and senior officials as a result of HWM and council officers meetings with those officials earlier. 3.4       Council officers facilitated numerous meetings for businesses. This was helpful for a number of delegates who were new to cold calling as a method to attain business contacts. 3.5       Anecdotally we are receiving information from our delegates of tenders being applied for, contracts being finalised and business contacts being followed up. 3.6       A future report will provide quantitative outcomes for the businesses as a result of this Trade Delegation. 4.0       Immediate Post Delegation Evaluation Survey results 4.1       Business delegates were asked to complete a post evaluation survey of their visit. A copy of the survey form is in appendix (“*”). The results were as follows:

Qn	About	Results
1	Overall Feedback	75% very positive, 25% positive
2	Well organised	100% yes
3	Support from MCC	96% yes, 4% other
4	Added value of HWM	96% yes, 4% other
5	Added value of NZPBC	100% yes
6	Benefit to Company	100% yes
7	Thoughts on Trade Delegation	36% financial benefit, 56% helped company, 8% potential trade opps
8	Destination of most useful for prospective business	20% Tonga, 30% Samoa, 17% Am Samoa, 33% All three
9	Destination of least useful for prospective business	19% Tonga, 5% Samoa, 29% Am Samoa, 48% None
10	Participating in future Trade Delegation	82% yes, 18% maybe

4.2       The results from the survey were very positive.  Appreciation was given to council’s organisation and preparation for the delegation and support of council officers.  The delegates acknowledged the value of a Mayor led delegation and the support of the New Zealand Pacific Business Council.  Delegates all thought there were benefits to be achieved through this type of activity.  Over 80% would consider participating in future trade delegations. 4.3       The results from this survey are purely qualitative and a quantitative account of the financial and ongoing benefits of the trade delegation will be provided in a future update to this committee. 5.0       Government official and Chambers of Commerce support 5.1       A verbal and written support from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Honourable Murray McCully was received prior to the delegation leaving.  This was well received and ensured that support through the New Zealand High Commissions was forthcoming. 5.2       In developing the visit schedule Council officers received good support from Foreign Affairs and Trade in pulling together a full programme. 5.3       On the various legs of the delegation there was excellent support from: (i)         Tongan Ministries of Foreign Affairs & Commerce Industry & Labour and Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ii)        New Zealand High Commission in Samoa and Samoan Chamber of Commerce (iii)       New Zealand Consul General to American Samoa, American Samoa Chamber of Commerce, American Samoa Development Bank and Department of Commerce (v)        Samoan Trade Consul 6.0       Conclusion 6.1       The Mayoral led Trade Delegation to the Pacific was successful for the following reasons: (i)         the support and weight of the Manukau City Council and the New Zealand Pacific Business Council; (ii)        the efforts of His Worship the Mayor Len Brown, Deputy Mayor Gary Troup, Councillor Arthur Anae, Chief Executive Leigh Auton and councillor officers; (iii)       the positive and professional manner in which the business delegates went about their meetings, generating business opportunities and trade displays; (iv)       the appropriate mix of businesses that were screened for the delegation. (v)        the appropriate mix of businesses that were screened for the delegation; (vi)       the support of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Trade and the High Commissions. 6.2       The Post delegation evaluation provided very positive qualitative responses from delegates.  A further report on the quantitative outcomes from the Trade Delegation will be presented to Committee in the next couple of months. 6.3       A follow up programme of action is being developed by Council officers to further develop and monitor the progress of these relationships.