Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully will depart today on a 10 day trip to the Middle East, South Asia and Africa.

Mr McCully will meet ministers in the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan before travelling to Ethiopia for the African Union Summit.

'New Zealand has a strong trade relationship with the Middle East. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is our seventh largest export market, with exports of $1.53 billion in the year to 2012. Our exports to the region continue to grow at over 10 per cent per year,” Mr McCully says.

'Renewable energy and food security will be high on the agenda in the Middle East, while a range of bilateral and regional issues will be discussed in Pakistan.”

Mr McCully will help launch the first edition of the African Union Handbook, a joint project between New Zealand and the African Union, at the African Union Summit in Addis Abba.

'The Handbook is a practical guide to the workings of the African Union and New Zealand is pleased to have supported its development,” Mr McCully says.

Source: Office of Murray McCully.