The Tongan community in Christchurch welcomed the Tongan Prime Minister Hon. Dr Feleti Sevele with a community luncheon on Saturday May 16 at the end of a two days visit to the city.

On Friday the Prime Minister visited the University of Canterbury where he was met by the Vice-Chancellor Dr Rod Carr and also Sir Tipene O'Regan, a Maori elder from the Ngai Tahu tribe, the main Maori tribe in the South Island.

Tongan students at Canterbury also attended the 'Pacific Cooperation Foundation annual Pacific Address' given by Dr Sevele at the university where he spoke about the Tonga-New Zealand diplomatic relationship and related the history of how Tonga had established diplomatic relations with foreign powers starting with the French in 1855, and later the British Protectorate status and then to independence in 1970. He spoke about the formation of the Pacific Islands Forum and the relationship with New Zealand being strengthened with the number of Tongans now living in New Zealand, and the new Tongan High Commission that is being established in Wellington this year.