Prime Minister John Key says he can pick up the phone to speak to a number of world leaders - and they will take the call.



Diplomats and former politicians were among a 300-strong audience that spread over two Victoria University lecture theatres in Wellington this afternoon for a wide-ranging speech Mr Key gave to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs.



He talked about the importance of different countries to New Zealand's economy and said travel had to be a high priority for prime ministers.



"I'll tell you something for nothing, it's going to get worse for every New Zealand Prime Minister, it will not get better. No New Zealand Prime Minister will travel less than I am. In the future they will travel more.



"And any journalist that doesn't like it will just have to get over themselves. That's the way it is."



Mr Key said multilateral partnerships like Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec), the Pacific Islands Forum, Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, United Nations and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations were serious commitments which New Zealand benefitted from.



"In the first instance what we get is personal relationships so if I needed to ring up the President of the United States I could do that and he would take my call.



"And that's partly because I have developed a personal relationship from getting to know him at Apec or the nuclear security summit."



He said that was true of other leaders too.



Leaders needed to have a serious agenda.



"I think leaders do have to challenge themselves to get results otherwise we will just get increasingly people saying they are talk-fests and not do-fests."



Marketer Brian Sweeney asked Mr Key about creating a trade brand that would do the same for business that the 100 percent pure brand had for tourism.



Mr Key said New Zealand needed to get better at promoting itself.



He said it was not meant as a criticism but the New Zealand expo in Shanghai was almost solely tourism focused.



"When I went through our pavilion in China it screamed at me 'great place to have a holiday'. It did not say anything to me about New Zealand being a smart economy - there was nothing to do with Weta workshops, no food technology and CRIs (Crown Research Institutes), no export education facilities."



He also talked about New Zealand's commitment to Afghanistan. The Government plans to reduce its commitment in Bamiyan province over time and is yet to decide whether to extend beyond March any of the Special Air Services (SAS) troops in the capital Kabul where they are mentoring the Afghan Army's Crisis Response Unit (CRU).



"CRU is really proving its capability so I think the feeling on the ground certainly from the New Zealand SAS is they would hate to see all those years of good work from the Norwegians and ourselves undone because we leave them without a little extra capability for a period of time longer. Cabinet will have to consider that by the end of the year."



On climate change Mr Key said the last meeting in Copenhagen was very disappointing and he did not hold out much hope for the next talks in Mexico.