New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key Smiles After the General Election in Auckland.
New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key smiles after the general election in Auckland November 26, 2011. Reuters/Stringer

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key has expressed grave concern at the broader economic threat posed by extremists like ISIS. In his speech at the APEC leaders' summit in Beijing, Mr Key chose to focus on the economic consequences of the ISIS threat posed to different countries. Mr Key delivered his speech at the leaders' retreat last Tuesday.

Multiple Threats

"The threat of terrorists and its impact on innocent people is one dimension of the ISIS threat. On a larger scale, it will destablise the Middle East and harm it economically." Mr Key told media persons that ISIS played only a small part in the APEC discussions where the leaders were focused more on the two free trade deals including TPP and the pan APEC FTA deal. Mt. Key also had a short discussion with Mr Obama on New Zealand's desire to send a team to Iraq on a non-combat mission, New Zealand Herald reported.

TPP Push

During the APEC summit, the leaders from the 12 countries involved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal, held a conclave. Despite delays, Mr Key sounded positive about the prospect of finalising a TPP deal by July or August next year.

But he noted that, if an agreement is not evolving by then, it would become a lot more difficult. China, which is not part of the TPP wanted a comprehensive free trade deal covering all the 21 APEC countries. Though this ruffled some feathers, Mr Key does not think TPP will conflict with a wider free trade deal. He called TPP as a "stepping stone" along the way. reports 3 News.

For New Zealand any FTA is fine. This is because, about 44 percent of global trade takes place among APEC economies and 74 percent of New Zealand's exports are going to APEC economies.

Greens Wary Of TPP

The Green Party hoped the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific would scupper the economic ambitions of the U.S and hamper the TPP. He said, "any trade agreement that involves China will have more protections around the rights of governments to legislate as China will not sign up to anything as is being proposed in the TPP. The kind of investor state disputes provisions that the United States is pushing down the throat will make any state leery".

But Finance Minister Bill English told Radio New Zealand that a new Asia-Pacific trade deal would "face the same hurdles as the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks."