U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesperson

For Immediate Release                                                                                                                                                                                                           May 23, 2013
2013/0627
Media Note

Joint Statement: US-New Zealand Strategic Dialogue

US Deputy Secretary of State William J. Burns opened the 2013 US-New Zealand Strategic Dialogue with New Zealand’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade John Allen; Chief of Defence Force Rhys Jones; Secretary to the Treasury Gabriel Makhlouf; and Deputy Secretary of Defence Bede Corry today at the US Department of State as part of our countries’ ongoing bilateral discussions. 

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs James P. Zumwalt led the discussion and welcomed the productive efforts of the United States and New Zealand to jointly tackle key challenges. The two sides discussed issues of global concern and challenges in the Asia-Pacific region. They reiterated their commitment to continuing to strengthen the strategic partnership between the United States and New Zealand.

The issues discussed by the United States and New Zealand included:
• The US rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region and areas of concern, including the situation on the Korean Peninsula;

• The strategic and economic architecture of the Asia-Pacific, including ASEAN, the East Asia Summit, APEC, the ASEAN Regional Forum, the Pacific Islands Forum, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership;

• The US-New Zealand strategic partnership, including cooperation in Afghanistan, peacekeeping operations, and cyber policy;

• Regional cooperation in the Asia-Pacific in areas such as maritime security, development, economic sustainability, and democracy and rule of law;

• Shared interests in protecting the environment, including joint efforts to secure approval in July of the US-New Zealand proposal to create the world’s largest marine protected area in Antarctica’s Ross Sea;

• and a mutual commitment to continue regular contact between our countries at all levels, including regular dialogues on issues such as scientific cooperation, the environment, coordination on Pacific Island challenges, development efforts, human rights, and the Asia-Pacific region.

The US delegation included representatives from the Departments of State and Defense, the National Security Staff, and the office of the US Trade Representative.  The New Zealand delegation included representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Ministry of Defence, the New Zealand Defence Force, and Treasury.  The two sides looked forward to holding the next Strategic Dialogue in the second half of 2013.

ENDS

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