In my opening statement, after references to economic and development cooperation, I stressed the security outlook that ASEAN and New Zealand shared, including their common aversion to nuclear weaponry, a basis for Wellington's support for the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapons-Free Zone. Citing New Zealand's active participation in the ARE, particularly in its inter-sessional actives, I reiterated the ASEAN position that New Zealand's accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia would be a further expression of Wellington's commitment to peace and stability in Southeast Asia. At the 2004 ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand summit, the ASEAN leaders "encouraged" Australia and New Zealand to accede to the TAC.