The New Caledonian president, Marie Noelle Themereau, today begins an official two-day visit to New Zealand.
Mrs Themereau's visit comes three months after the New Zealand foreign minister, Phil Goff, visited Noumea on his tour of the two main French Pacific territories.
She is accompanied by the economics minister, Didier Leroux.
Mr Leroux says the Themereau government wants New Caledonia to become more integrated in the region.
He says the the trip will help the governments of both countries get to know each other better.
"It is important that all our neighbours in the Pacific can know how things are now, how things happen, what is going on in new Caledonia in order to have a better knowledge and better understanding of our problems, and eventually not to interfere into our internal affairs wrongly."
New Caledonia's economics minister Didier Leroux
