integration and thus presents an intriguing reference point to the 'stumbling blocks' thesis posited by Bhagwati and others. He reprised a more elaborate version of this paper at a Boao Forum event in Beijing in December that year. There were strong rumours in mid to late 2010 that Vitalis had resigned from the New Zealand Foreign Ministry and had secured a senior role at the Asian Development Bank to work on regional economic integration. New Zealand Mission to the European Union, Brussels (2011-2015) In early 2011, Vitalis was appointed New Zealand Ambassador to the European Union in Brussels, with cross-accreditations as New Zealand Ambassador to NATO, Belgium, Bulgaria, Romania and Luxembourg., 3 February 2011</ref> Vitalis is the first Greek-New Zealand Ambassador. He formally presented his letter of credentials as the New Zealand Ambassador to the European Union to President Van Rompuy on 15 November 2011 and to President Barroso on 23 December 2011. In late 2012, as a consequence of a restructuring in the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the closure of the New Zealand Embassy in Stockholm, Vitalis was appointed New Zealand's Ambassador to Sweden (located in Brussels), alongside his on-going responsibilities as New Zealand's Ambassador to the European Union and NATO. He presented his credentials in Stockholm in early 2013. Given the expansion of his responsibilities to include Sweden and the FTA with the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan (see below), Vitalis' accreditations to Belgium, Luxembourg, Romania and Bulgaria were transferred to the New Zealand Deputy Head of Mission to the EU in Brussels, Paula Wilson who became a full Ambassador to those countries. Vitalis presented a paper at the World Agricultural Forum held in December 2011. His presentation emphasised the important linkages between trade, agriculture and development citing in particular the possibility of focusing development assistance including through the effective implementation of trade agreements as a mechanism to encourage and facilitate investment and trade flows. He made particular reference in his presentation to the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand FTA which features assistance for implementation of the agreement in a manner designed to ensure that the benefits of the agreement are effectively harnessed across ASEAN member states. In early 2012, Vitalis was formally appointed as New Zealand's Chief Negotiator for the Russia-Belarus-Kazakhstan-New Zealand FTA. In early 2013, Vitalis was appointed as the New Zealand Minister of Trade's 'Special Envoy' in support of Hon Tim