Merkel visiting New Zealand

Merkel began her first ever visit to New Zealand in its largest city, Auckland on Friday, with a traditional Maori welcome or Powhiri, hosted by Governor General Sir Jerry Mateparae.

His cultural advisor and Maori elder Lewis Moeau greeted Merkel with a Hongi or nose kiss (pictured).

Maori make up about 15 percent of New Zealand's population of mainly European origin.

Later on Friday, Merkel will hold a press conference with newly re-elected Prime Minister John Key, meet young academics involved in innovative projects, and attend a New Zealand-German business association meeting.

Kiwi breeding sanctuary

Key and Merkel were also due to make an outing from Auckland to Motutapu island, a sanctuary for a Kiwi breeding project aimed at saving New Zealand's increasingly rare symbolic bird which forages mainly at night for insects.

Germany ranks as New Zealand's number one EU trading partner. Germany imports meat, mainly lamb and venison, dairy products and wool from New Zealand. Its key sales products to New Zealand are vehicles, tools and medical products.

New Zealand attracts 76,000 German tourists annually, making them the 6th largest group of inbound visitors. Thousands of young adults of both countries use 12-month visas under "working holiday" programs to gather experience in Germany and New Zealand.

Since the signing in 1977 of a scientific exchange program, German and New Zealand have built up joint research projects, including the fields of oceanography, biotechnology and geology, extending to Antarctica.

New Zealand was recently among five nations elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.

Fallen of two wars

On Friday, Merkel was also due to lay a wreath honoring the fallen of World War I and II at Auckland's War Memorial Museum, together with visiting Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper who is also in transit to Brisbane.

New Zealand lost more than 28,000 soldiers at battle sites such as Gallipoli [now Turkey], Belgium's Flanders, Crete, Monte Cassino in Italy and El Alemain in Egypt, enduring one of the highest per capita casualty rates of any nation worldwide.

Merkel to press climate issue

At the Group of 20 (G-20) summit starting in Brisbane on Saturday, Merkel is expected to press efforts to stem global warming and spearhead Western calls to Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the crisis in eastern Ukraine.

Following the G-20 summit, Merkel will travel to Sydney for talks with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

He had been pressing Putin to explain the downing in July of a Malaysian airliner over eastern Ukraine in which 38 Australian citizens and residents of Australia were killed.

ipj/bw (dpa)