Jacinda Ardern’s meeting with President Joe Biden won’t result in any deals or announcements - it’s purely about face-to-face time and shining a spotlight on the Pacific, writes political editor Jo Moir
Analysis: The Prime Minister has described her upcoming meeting with President Joe Biden as a “change of venue’’ given she has spoken with him twice before.
Speaking to media ahead of her meeting on Wednesday NZT, Jacinda Ardern said “it’s a continuation of the relationship’’ but this time it will be in his space, at the White House, rather than on the phone.
“Obviously we’ve had the opportunity to speak several times before with President Biden, but there’s nothing quite like meeting face-to-face,’’ she said.
The visit has not come without complication after both top diplomat Chris Seed and Ardern’s chief press secretary, Andrew Campbell, tested positive for Covid in San Francisco before the RNZAF plane left for Washington DC.
Given the strict Covid protocols for entering the White House, the Prime Minister’s delegation and the media have all had to do PCR tests on arrival in Washington.
There were no cases within the media contingent, but one member of Ardern's delegation has tested positive - they have no symptoms and are testing negative on a rapid antigen test but are taking precautions and isolating.
The delegations will also need to take a rapid antigen test ahead of the meeting.
The White House has finalised the programme for the visit and Ardern will meet with Biden in the Oval Office.
Adding further problems to the US visit is news the Air Force aircraft which the delegation has been travelling on and was due to return home on, has broken down in Washington DC.
Engineers are working on the issue and hope to head home just one day later than scheduled, but in the meantime many in the delegation are choosing to book commercial flights instead.
Ardern had always planned to fly home commercially due to commitments back in New Zealand later this week.
She has two meetings at the White House before her departure, the first with Vice-President Kamala Harris and then with Biden.
The night before she will also have an informal dinner with White House coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, Kurt Campbell, and there are also plans for her to meet other senior officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
When it comes to her Biden meeting, Ardern said there would be a number of issues on the agenda.
“But really top of mind for us, alongside obviously the war in Ukraine, is the situation in our region.
“We’ll be continuing to ask the United States to really continue and strengthen engagement in our region, including economic engagement, which is really critical to our region.’’
Ardern has down played the sweep of meetings the Chinese Foreign Minister is currently having in the Pacific, saying it’s been described to her as “routine diplomatic engagement’’.
“I think we do need to take a step back and remember that of course China has been present in the Pacific and active in the Pacific and across infrastructure projects and built relationships over a number of years.
“What is happening right now is not new, perhaps the pace and engagement has picked up, but it’s not new,’’ she said.
“What of course we’re encouraging is that the United States relationships, that they grow and that they equally continue to build those consistent relationships in our region because there’s no doubt the pace of engagement has increased.’’
But, the return of the US to the region needs to be more than just countering China because Pacific leaders will inevitably see through that, and ultimately want some economic resilience, not just security and defence.
China has been pumping money into the Pacific for years, by way of loans rather than through grants, which are the favoured aid by New Zealand.
It’s now starting to call in some of that debt through means such as an increased presence and influence in the region, and that could force the hand of the US to invest too.
Asked by Newsroom if the US needs to respond to the huge infrastructure investment China has already made over time, Ardern was diplomatic, saying countries partnering Pacific nations need to work alongside them to support their development agenda.
She pointed to New Zealand’s role in the Pacific around Covid advice and vaccines, turning up quickly when natural disasters happen and assisting with infrastructure and climate change issues, as examples of that.
She also pushed back on criticism that New Zealand has neglected its relationship with the Pacific by not having Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta regularly visiting in recent years.
She said Covid restrictions have limited that until now but pointed out two ministers had already visited Fiji and meetings with Tuvalu and Tonga's leaders have taken place.
“We are of the Pacific, we’re a Pacific nation, our relationships are naturally therefore different than many other nations in our region.
“So, for us we’ll be offering New Zealand’s perspective on what’s happening in our region and we will always frame it as that. What’s really important is that nations build their own relationships with the Pacific - these are sovereign nations with their own leaders and government.’’
Ardern said relationships needed to be built in their own right “not because another country is present’’.
“This cannot all be about China.’’
That means diversifying trade relationships too, and Ardern said the Government has a job to help build resilience for exporters by “opening as many doors in as many markets as possible’’.
“It doesn’t mean that our exporters have to all exit markets, like, for instance, China where there may have been retaliatory practices in the past.
“It means having a plan should anything occur, should Covid lockdown occur, should a supply chain issue occur. That makes good sense.’’
That is why the Government has put so much priority on working on the UK and EU trade deals, she said.
Gun reform is also expected to come up in Ardern’s meetings, especially in light of the Texas elementary school shooting last week where 19 children and two adults were killed.
Ardern said she wouldn’t know until she was in the room what specifically Biden or Harris would want to discuss on gun reform, but sharing New Zealand’s experience was something she’s happy to do.
In her time in the US already, Ardern has been doing exactly that from her appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert through to her meetings with Senators and members of Congress at the Capitol.
