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No Decisions Expected On US Aid Changes For Pacific Until April
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says the United States will not make any decisions on aid funding for the Pacific region until mid-April.
Peters has met with acting head of US Agency for International Development (USID) Peter Marocco and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.
On his sit-down with Marocco, Peters said the pair had a "frank and open" discussion about a range of topics, including changes to aid programmes under the second Trump administration.
"The decisions on that are being made about mid-April and we'll have to wait until then, but they get our point of view as to how essential it is in the blue continent, or the Pacific so to speak, and what our collective role should be in it."
Peters said he told Marocco what parts of America's existing aid funding in the Pacific region were "very, very critical".
"We understood why there was an aid review - we engaged in an aid review ourselves - however the essentiality of the very, very, very detailed and forward-leaning programme going in the future was a critical part of our discussion. Its shape and form, though, depends upon their decisions by April."
Speaking to his meeting with Waltz, Peters said it had been a long one.
"It was an excellent meeting. We came away very, very, very pleased with the outcome, but of course its details I have to report first to the government back in New Zealand, my Cabinet colleagues.
"In our business it's wise to find out the results before you open your mouth, but we are looking ahead with more confidence than when we arrived."
The Minister met the National Security Advisor of the United States, Mike Waltz, and his National Security Council team at the White House today.
They discussed the strategic partnership between NZ & the United States, recent developments in the Indo-Pacific, and our shared… pic.twitter.com/FsrDczbE5z
— Winston Peters (@NewZealandMFA) March 17, 2025
Peters said Marocco communicated America's expectations of New Zealand in the meeting, but would not divulge any details.
"I can tell you when I've told my Cabinet colleagues."
Peters was asked if he could give any assurances New Zealand would have a positive relationship with the United States going forward, in light of its fractured relationship with Canada.
"I'd love to give those assurances, but that would be premature. We were here to build those assurances into the future, and that's where we hope to be going now."
Peters will meet Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday (US time, Wednesday NZ time).
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