The Prime Minister, John Key, is on his way to Thailand for the Asean conference which will be held this weekend in Pattaya, 100km south of Bangkok. Ten Asian countries including Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and China, will be represented at the conference. They will hold talks about economic matters. New Zealand is also interested in free trade with many of these countries.

At the moment, protesters are causing problems in Thailand. Red shirt protesters want the ex-Prime Minister back again. They say that they do not have democracy with the new Prime Minister. Police in Thailand have to make sure that the protesters do not stop the Asean conference.

After the conference, John Key will visit China and will hold talks with the President and Premier of China. He is interested in bringing more Chinese people to New Zealand as tourists and as international students. He is also interested in trade between the two countries, especially how we can sell more dairy and other agricultural products to China. China is our third most important country for exports and imports.