Secretary Rubio’s Meeting with New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Peters

The below is attributable to Spokesperson Tammy Bruce:

Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters yesterday. The Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister discussed avenues for strengthening defense cooperation through burden sharing, allowing our militaries to work more closely together, and ensuring security and economic strength in the Pacific region. Both parties discussed our valued trade relationship, with the Secretary noting about maritime challenges, that the ultimate trade barrier is the inability to transit sea lanes. Also emphasized was the importance of cooperation on emerging technologies, and in particular New Zealand’s space sector. The meeting reaffirmed the strong U.S.-New Zealand partnership and shared commitment to regional stability.