Prime Minister John Key has held a 15-minute meeting with Sri Lanka's president on the sidelines of CHOGM in Colombo.
Mr Key says he made it clear during the meeting that Sri Lanka had to make more progress around human rights.
But other Commonwealth leaders have taken a stronger stance than Mr Key, including UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who's calling for an inquiry into the disappearance of thousands of Tamils at the end of the civil war.
Otago University international relations Professor Robert Patman says Mr Key is taking the middle ground – attending CHOGM despite others such as India and Canada boycotting it, and taking the message directly to the Sri Lankan leadership.
But he hasn't been as strong as Mr Cameron, probably because New Zealand exports $200 million of goods to Sri Lanka each year, and New Zealand wants Sri Lanka's vote in the election of the next UN Security Council.
Watch the video for the full interview.
source: newshub archive
