Source: New Zealand Government
April 11, 2024
Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters
We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule of law, democracy, human rights, trade and investment, and strong people-to-people connections. At a moment when our nations face shared challenges—including the climate crisis, strategic competition, and Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine—we are working more closely than ever to tackle them together and champion our shared values and interests.
Our countries are united by our enduring stake in an open, stable, and prosperous Indo-Pacific. We are resolved to uphold the conditions that have seen the region thrive, including freedom of navigation, the peaceful settlement of disputes, and respect for sovereignty and internationally agreed-upon rules and norms. These are the principles that will continue to guide our partnership into the future, supported by diplomacy, development, defence, economy, and intelligence, the latter enhanced by our long-standing Five Eyes partnership.
To advance this shared vision, we commit today to working even more closely together not only with each other, but also with our like-minded regional partners, especially our mutual ally Australia. We see great potential for collaboration in frameworks and architectures that reflect our shared vision. We share the view that arrangements such as the Quad, AUKUS, and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity contribute to peace, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and see powerful reasons for New Zealand engaging practically with them, as and when all parties deem it appropriate.
Our nations share deep ties with—and commitment to—the Pacific Islands. New Zealand warmly welcomes the United States’ comprehensive program of engagement with the Pacific, which provides a strong platform for working together for a more prosperous and resilient region. The United States applauds New Zealand’s commitment to the Pacific Islands, including the announcement of a substantial investment to provide critical internet connectivity. Our continued work in the Pacific will be guided by the centrality of the Pacific Islands Forum and the region’s priorities, consistent with the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent. We will continue to prioritize working with others to amplify Pacific priorities globally, including through the Partners in the Blue Pacific.
The principles we support in the Indo-Pacific are universal. They drive what we seek to achieve elsewhere in the world, whether through NATO and its partnership with the four Indo-Pacific democracies of New Zealand, Australia, Japan and the Republic of Korea, or through other regional and global mechanisms.
For the past decade and more, the vital U.S.-New Zealand relationship has been guided by the Wellington and Washington Declarations. Today we re-commit ourselves to these documents—but we also recognize that the most challenging strategic environment in decades requires us to do more together. We resolved today to seek to meet annually at the Secretary of State and Foreign Minister level. We reaffirmed the vital role played by the foreign policy, defence, intelligence, economic, space and tech partnerships between our two countries. These mechanisms actuate our relationship and our unwavering commitment to the values that we prize.
