Your Excellency,

I am pleased to receive the Letter of Credence by which the President of the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan has accredited you as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Afghanistan to New Zealand.

Please convey my best wishes and thanks to His Excellency Hamid Karzai for his kind greetings.

Since Afghanistan began its journey back to constitutional and democratic government, New Zealand and Afghanistan have been developing friendly ties. This relationship has been expanded through high-level contacts, for example by the visit of our Minister of Foreign Affairs to Afghanistan in December last year. It has reached new levels with the formation of our diplomatic ties through your accreditation to New Zealand. We appreciate your Government's recent agreement to the accreditation to Kabul of the New Zealand Ambassador in Teheran. And I would add that, just this morning, I have signed the formal letter appointing Mr Niels Holm as our first Ambassador to Afghanistan.

New Zealand welcomes the progress achieved in implementing the Bonn Accord and supports the efforts of the Government of the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan to restore peace, stability and constitutional democratic government. New Zealand has provided humanitarian assistance through United Nations agencies and through New Zealand non-governmental organistations to help achieve that goal. We also contribute military assistance to the UN-mandated International Security Assistance Force and to Operation Enduring Freedom.

Your Excellency, we have been heartened by positive developments such as the establishment of a constitutional commission and the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission. The return of three million children to school and the absorption of 1.7 million refugees back into communities give a sense of the progress being made.

Diplomatic accreditation in both directions will also help us to strengthen our bilateral trade ties.

Your Excellency, on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen of New Zealand, and the Government of this country, I welcome you here warmly. Although you are based in Canberra, I hope you will visit us frequently to familiarise yourself with our land and get to know our people. We wish you success with your assignment and offer you every assistance in carrying out your important duties.

No reira - nau mai, haere mai ki Aotoearoa - welcome to New Zealand.