Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta has met with the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the final stage of a 17-day world trip.
Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta Photo: ROBERT KITCHIN/STUFF
She said they had a warm and productive discussion about a number of issues - including Pacific resilience, the Indo-Pacific regional agenda, and shared security concerns.
"Our two countries enjoy a deep, long-lasting friendship that is based on shared values and a commitment to the importance of human rights, democracy and maintaining the system of international rules and norms," she said in a statement.
"Administrator Power and I also spoke about our work on human rights and strengthening democracy and multilateral organisations. Aotearoa New Zealand takes a global view of our interests and responsibilities, as we achieve more by working together on the international stage,"
While in Washington DC, Mahuta also met with United States Agency for International Development Administrator Samantha Power, and National Security Council officials.
Earlier she met Canada's Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly, Development Minister Harjit Sajjan, and International Trade Minister Mary Ng.
"This was a good opportunity to not only meet my counterparts face-to-face, but to discuss some of those issues important to our nations at this time, like climate change, Covid-19 and indigenous relations," she said.
"We discussed a range of international and regional issues, including Pacific resilience and developments in the Indo-Pacific as well as the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and the need to support Pacific resilience in the face of the dual challenges of Covid-19 and climate change."
She also met with Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu and Crown-Indigenous Relations Marc Miller to outline a commitment to deepening links between Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand and First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples in Canada.
Mahuta was due to return home and enter managed isolation today.
