June 17, 2022
Mahuta talks tackle Pacific challenges
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta has met with her Australian counterpart Penny Wong to discuss climate change, indigenous issues and “Indo Pacific challenges”.
She says it’s important the two countries work together to support Pacific partners who are facing a complex and growing array of challenges, including an increasingly contested strategic environment.
The bilateral sit-down follows Ms Mahuta’s virtual meeting on Monday with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi, who has just completed and eight-nation tour of Pacific states.
She says while New Zealand is a small county, its approach to larger states like China is to be consistent and respectful.
There are things that we can agree on and we identify those things but the things we differ on which is the most important element of the conversation because they are hard conversations, we are able to identify those issues, talk about them. We many not agree but the nature of the relationship is we can continue to raise these issues as matters of concern,” Minister Mahuta says.
She says one such issue of concern is China’s human rights policies.