Prime Minister John Key arrived in Lima today to attend the Apec summit meeting, well briefed on what to expect by Labour's foreign affairs spokeswoman and former prime minister Helen Clark.
A spokesman for Mr Key told NZPA the prime minister and Miss Clark, who attended nine summits while her government held office, had discussed Apec for nearly an hour before the New Zealand delegation left.
On his way to the Peruvian capital Mr Key stopped in Santiago, where he met Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare.
Mr Key's spokesman said their talks were useful and constructive.
One of the first announcements from the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum meeting was that Australia and Peru had decided to enter a Pacific rim free trade deal with countries that include New Zealand.
The United States decided in September to join Singapore, New Zealand, Chile and Brunei in the Comprehensive Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement, a multilateral trade deal known as the P4.
The agreement, the first trade pact involving a group of Pacific rim countries, was signed between Singapore, Chile and New Zealand in 2005 before Brunei joined it a year later.
Trade Minister Tim Groser, who is in Lima with Mr Key, said the move towards a wider Pacific rim trade bloc was significant at a time when economies needed whatever boost they could get.
"We're trying to work through the economic turmoil and this is part of the answer," he said.
The summit takes place on Sunday and Monday (NZT) and Mr Key's first appearance will be at a chief executives meeting which is taking place alongside it.
He will make a speech to the chief executives early tomorrow morning and take part in a panel discussion.
At the summit Mr Key will be alongside prime ministers and presidents from Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Indonesia, Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.
The global financial and economic crisis will dominate discussions, and Mr Key formed his government quickly after the November 8 election so he could attend.
