New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks at the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise Investment Lunch in Sydney on July 7, 2022. JAMES GOURLEY POOL AFP WELLINGTON - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern attended the Australia-New Zealand Leadership Forum in Australia's largest city of Sydney on Thursday to boost trade ties between the two countries.
In a statement from Ardern, a statement said that the trans-Tasman trade and economic links are fundamental to ensuring New Zealanders' economic security.
Topics discussed include reconnecting through travel and tourism, trans-Tasman innovation opportunities, labor shortages and the future of work, economic growth challenges post-COVID 19 and climate change collaboration.
Australia is the second largest trading partner after China, with two-way trade accounting for over 22 billion NZ dollars $13.6 billion in the year to December 2021, according to statistics.
The forum last took place in Auckland before COVID 19 in 2019 and was usually held around every 18 months. On Friday, Ardern and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will hold their first formal leaders' meeting in Sydney.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern poses with Lowy Institute Executive Director Angus Houston during her arrival at the institute in Sydney on July 7, 2022. DEAN LEWINS POOL AFP Ardern said on Thursday that regional architecture such as the Pacific Islands Forum was critical in solving regional problems and local security issues that should be resolved locally.
The leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum countries will gather in Fiji next week for an annual meeting.
New Zealand is committed to the Pacific Islands Forum as the vehicle for addressing regional challenges, said Ardern in a speech to the Lowy Institute think tank in Australia.
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She said that we have a strong commitment to supporting broader ambitions for our region's security. Local security challenges are resolved locally, with the Pacific Islands Forum Members' security being addressed first and foremost by the Forum family. As Ardern was speaking in Australia, her government announced a review of defense policy, strategy and planned investment, in part because of the intensification of geo-strategic competition. Ardern said that although Pacific cooperation should be shaped by various agreements in place and regional groupsings, that did not mean that others wouldn't have an interest in engaging with the region.
In announcing the defense review, New Zealand Minister of Defence Peeni Henare said that the military worked daily with allies to protect security and stability in the region.