New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has met with US President Joe Biden to discuss shared concerns about China’s growing influence in the Pacific, as well as extremism and to address to the aftermath of the mass shootings.
The two leaders spoke for more than an hour, and Biden said Ardern’s leadership on issues such as climate change, violence and extremism was of international importance.
“Your leadership has taken on a critical role at this global stage,” Biden said. “It really has to: drive action on climate change; the global effort to curb violence, extremism and online, as happened in Christchurch. “
For New Zealand, the visit was important: the first time a Prime Minister has visited the Oval Office since 2014. It comes at a time of rising tensions in the Pacific region, where New Zealand seeks to strengthen relations in the middle of a push. from China to sign new economic and security pacts to Pacific island nations. But the different experiences of the two leaders with mass shootings, gun control and extremism were also important.
Ardern’s journey coincided with the aftermath of the Buffalo and Uvalde mass shootings. The Prime Minister’s own history of gun control, the ban on most semi-automatic weapons following the shootings at Christchurch Mosque, which killed 51 in 2019, made the issue an unexpected focus of his travel, especially for Americans frustrated by the lack of a legislature. action on arms control.
On the mass shootings, Ardern said: “Our experience, of course, in this sense, is ours. But if there is something we can share that has any value, we are here to share it.”
Biden spoke at length about the pain that followed the shootings in New York and Texas as he struggled to push a Congress reluctant to tighten gun laws. “There’s an expression of an Irish poet who says, ‘Too long a suffering makes a heart stone.’ Well, there’s a lot of suffering. history of the United States, unfortunately…. Much can be prevented and the devastation is staggering, “he said.
He spoke of his recent experience of spending hours talking with Texas survivors and loved ones, and said he wanted to talk to Ardern about his own conversations following the Christchurch attacks, including the Christchurch call, a international effort to curb violent extremism online.
“I want to work with you on this effort. And I want to talk to you about what those conversations were like, if you will,” he said.
After the meeting, Ardern said: “While in New Zealand we know we have more work to do on the subject of gun crime, we can share what we have learned with the changes we have made.”
For New Zealand, the top priorities were to discuss trade, climate and security in the Indo-Pacific region, where China has become an increasingly muscular player.
Biden stressed that the US wanted to establish relations and “work together” in the region.
“I want to emphasize the last point you said: ‘work together’ … We do not come to dictate or establish the law … We have more work to do in these Pacific islands,” he said.
Ardern said after the meeting that the conversation “came at a critical time” and that the two leaders “were again committed to working together, and alongside others, in the pursuit of peace and stability.” , and in defense of the international order based on norms “.
Senior administration officials said the couple had spoken for much longer than expected: the meeting lasted an hour and lasted 90 minutes.
The couple also talked about the war in Ukraine and trade associations, and Ardern urged Biden to join the Comprehensive Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTTP).