National Office and branch activities.

• Position: INSTITUTE NOTES

On 4 April Cook Islands Prime Minister Hon Henry Puna addressed a meeting at Parliament on 'Te Akaitiki: The Evolving Cook Islands-New Zealand Relationship'. He was introduced by Rt Hon Winston Peters, the deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs.

Afghan freelance journalist and parliamentary candidate Bilal Sarwary held a discussion about 'Behind the Headlines, #Afghanistan You Never See' at a meeting in Wellington on 15 May.

Next day a panel discussion was held at Parliament on 'US Exit from Iran Deal, What Next for New Zealand and the World'. The panelists were HE Laura Clark (British high commissioner), Dr Rouzbeh Parsi (senior lecturer, Lund University), Bernard Hourcade (senior research fellow, CNRS, Paris) and Tim Ritchie (CEO, Meat Industry Association New Zealand).

On 8 June, at a meeting at Parliament hosted by Hon Shane Jones MP, Solomon Islands' prime minister, Hon Rick Hou, spoke on 'The Solomon Islands Economy: Transitioning from Logging to Natural Resources Management and Alternative Industries for Sustainable Development'.

The National Council was held on 21 June. A full report will be included in the next issue.

Auckland

The following meetings were held:

12 Apr HE Gediminas Varvuolis (Lithuania's ambassador to New Zealand), 'East vs West: The Past and Future of Lithuania's International Relations'. 16 May Dr Matthew Trundle (professor of classics, University of Auckland), 'Mercenaries: the Free Market at War'. 21 May Christopher Woodthorpe (director, UN Information Centre, Canberra), 'The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: Our Shared Responsibility'. Christchurch

The following meetings were held:

4 May HE Rob Zaagman (Dutch ambassador) and Dr Chris Jones (senior lecturer in medieval history, Canterbury University), 'Is the Comparison between the European Union and the Holy Roman Empire Really Valid?' 17 May Bilal Sarwary (Afghani journalist), 'Afghanistan Be hind the Headlines'. Nelson

Paul Willis has been added to the branch committee. The following meetings were held:

13 Apr Ross Wilson (chair of the Unions Aotearoa International Development Trust), 'Myanmar Today: Democracy or Demagoguery?' (The edited text of this address is to be found elsewhere in this issue.) 1 May Grant Rosewarne (managing director, New Zealand King Salmon Ltd), 'Farming Salmon for the Overseas Markets'. 16 May Niels Holm (former New Zealand ambassador to Iran and Afghanistan and high commissioner to Pakistan Guinea), 'What is it...