New chance for McCully

Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully will get another chance to meet United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this week.

McCully will join foreign leaders, including Clinton, at the London Conference on Afghanistan from Thursday.

Clinton had to postpone a visit to New Zealand because of the Haitian earthquake, which has killed more than 110,000 people.

The conference on Afghanistan was called by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in November. It will be held amid tight security with the attendees including Afghan president Hamid Karzai, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

McCully was due to fly out for the conference last night, stopping en route in Vietnam for bilateral talks.

A spokeswoman for McCully said a short meeting with Clinton was possible in London.

A new date for Clinton to visit New Zealand was still being negotiated.

McCully is expected to stress the need for good governance and anti-corruption measures in Afghanistan when he speaks at the con-ference.

While other nations will be making renewed commitments to the troubled nation, New Zealand will not be offering any more.

New Zealand Special Air Service soldiers are on their fourth deployment in Afghanistan, which started in September last year.

- © Fairfax NZ News