Secretary Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta Before Their Meeting
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesperson
REMARKS
Secretary Antony J. Blinken – Benjamin Franklin Room
Washington, D.C.
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Good morning, everyone. I’m so pleased to have Foreign Minister Mahuta here at the State Department in Washington. This is, I believe, your first overseas trip as foreign minister. We are so grateful that the United States is on the itinerary, and I think it’s very befitting, because we have a strong and deep partnership with New Zealand. We are grateful for New Zealand’s leadership in the Pacific; that’s something that we look to.
And also I must tell you, Nanaia, the leadership that you’ve shown on COVID has been extraordinary, not just at home in New Zealand but also throughout the Pacific, the donation of vaccines, as well as the leadership that I think we’ve shown together on climate, including most recently at COP26, the Global Methane Pledge.
But we’re so grateful to have this partnership and be able to now have an opportunity to strengthen it even more on your visit. So thank you for being here.
FOREIGN MINISTER MAHUTA: (In Māori.) It gives me great pleasure to be here today, and thank Secretary Blinken for his warm hospitality. As was mentioned, this is my first trip as foreign minister overseas, and it was important to come here to the United States to reaffirm the warm bilateral relationships that we have and the interests that the U.S. has shown in the Pacific and wider Indo-Pacific region.
I anticipate that the conversations that we will have will be ones of mutual interest. As was explained, we have some common objectives in terms of climate change, but we also have some common objectives in terms of what we’ve learned from COVID-19 and how we might take forward some of the challenges around building back better, and how that applies to the Pacific.
So thank you very much, again, for hosting me.
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Great to have you. We’ve got to work.
FOREIGN MINISTER MAHUTA: Thank you.
Pleasure to welcome New Zealand Foreign Minister Foreign Minister @NanaiaMahuta to D.C. today. We reiterated our shared values and commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. I thanked her for New Zealand’s efforts on COVID-19, climate, and @apec2021NZ. pic.twitter.com/BrHENhQAJi
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) November 23, 2021
Administrator Samantha Power meeting with Hon. Nanaia Mahuta, New Zealand Minister Of Foreign Affairs
USAID Readout
For Immediate Release
Monday, November 22, 2021
The below is attributable to Spokesperson Rebecca Chalif:
Today, Administrator Samantha Power met with New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Nanaia Mahuta. The Administrator thanked Hon. Mahuta for New Zealand’s role as a valuable development partner and reaffirmed a mutual commitment to cooperate on development progress across the Pacific Islands. The two discussed ongoing collaboration to respond to COVID-19 and climate change threats throughout the Pacific Islands, as well as broader engagement in infrastructure development that is focused on climate resilience. They also spoke about empowering women and girls in the Pacific, supporting the region’s renewable energy transformation and continuing to protect its coastal fisheries and work to foster good governance.
Great to welcome @NanaiaMahuta, #NewZealand’s first Maori woman Minister of Foreign Affairs, to @USAID. New Zealand’s regional expertise & collaboration has allowed our development partnership to succeed, especially on disaster response & disaster risk reduction in the Pacific. pic.twitter.com/259qsINiIM
— Samantha Power (@PowerUSAID) November 23, 2021
Visit to Smithsonian – Tuia te here tangata waka
While in Washington DC, the New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta visited Waka Tuia Te Here Tangata on display in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
Find out more about Waka Tuia Te Here Tangata here.
Ka rawe! A pleasure to meet @leafdoctor & visit waka Tuia Te Here Tangata today. It represents an enduring bond with @smithsonian & provides an opportunity to strengthen our historical friendship. It remains in 🇺🇸 to showcase the vibrancy & innovation of Māori culture and art. pic.twitter.com/9UkMnGEFzF
— Nanaia Mahuta (@NanaiaMahuta) November 23, 2021