The below is attributable to Spokesperson Matthew Miller:
Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a productive meeting in Washington, D.C. on July 9. Together, the Deputy Secretary and the Prime Minister discussed ways to further strengthen the bilateral relationship, from defense, to increased Pacific cooperation and economic ties, and focused on the forward-looking nature of the U.S.-New Zealand relationship.
The Deputy Secretary and the New Zealand Prime Minister met on the occasion of the Prime Minister’s first visit to Washington and attendance at the NATO Summit. The meeting also took place under the auspices of the Prime Minister’s chairpersonship of this year’s NATO Indo-Pacific Partners meeting, demonstrating New Zealand’s leadership on the global stage.
The Deputy Secretary and the New Zealand Prime Minister also reaffirmed our ongoing and deepening coordination on a range of security issues, including Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and preserving peace and stability in the South China Sea. The Deputy Secretary thanked Prime Minister Luxon for his continued leadership in support of Ukraine and welcomed the Prime Minister’s efforts to increase defense interoperability with New Zealand’s closest partners. The two discussed plans to work together with Pacific Islands to expand economic and people-to-people engagements and combat illegal fishing to create a more prosperous and resilient Pacific region.
The Deputy Secretary and the New Zealand Prime Minister also spoke about increasing our economic ties, including through boosting cooperation in advanced technologies, in space, in Antarctica, and in other sectors and industries of the future. As a trusted Indo-Pacific partner, New Zealand continues to punch above its weight.
