H.E. Ms. Stephanie Pamela Lee, Ambassador of New Zealand to ASEAN visited ERIA on 24 April 2015.

The Ambassador stressed New Zealand's strong interest in contributing to the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) building process.

In this context, Prof. Hidetoshi Nishimura, Executive Director of ERIA, explained ERIA's ongoing AEC study, including AEC post 2015 Vision, regulatory management, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). He also introduced ERIA's efforts in framing the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) post 2015, saying that the achievement of the ASCC can provide a good foundation for implementing the remaining issues of the AEC.

Both dignitaries looked forward to working closely together to deepen the relations between ERIA and New Zealand.