The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has confirmed it paid $85,000 towards the All Whites' trip to China for a friendly football match. The decision to put taxpayers' money towards a sporting trip was slammed by former foreign affairs minister Winston Peters, who said he was "astonished" MFAT was dabbling in sport.

Thirty-two public servants are flitting to Frankfurt for a controversial book fair, which New Zealand is attending as a guest at a cost of $6 million. The Ministry of Culture and Heritage is sending seven staff, and Treasury has two officials going. English will open the October 9 party.

As part of the celebrations to mark the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and New Zealand, two Te Papa exhibitions will be heading to the National Museum of China in November 2012.

The government has commissioned three government agencies to develop the "New Zealand Story" as an aid to export growth but it says the new tools don’t signal the end of 100% Pure as a national brand.

...the Government’s ambition is nothing less than enhancing Britain’s reputation across the globe. The goal of its innovative cross-departmental GREAT campaign, of which the Olympics is the high point to date, is to refresh the brand of the home nations as amongst the top places in the world to visit, live, work, study and do business...

As part of a public diplomacy program, the Fiji mission in New Zealand is actively building people-to-people contacts. The Foreign Ministry says the mission is also seeking to raise awareness of Fiji's national interests among future leaders of New Zealand.

Students from an American Indian high school on a 10-day cultural exchange to New Zealand will take incredible memories, new friends and a better appreciation of their own culture back to New Mexico.

The People’s Republic of China’s Government of Guizhou Province and New Zealand’s Te Puni Kōkiri (Ministry of Māori Development) have launched an international agricultural exchange programme. The programme recognises that investing in the education of young people is a vital way to boost development in rural areas.