Visiting New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is ready to talk gun control Tuesday if it comes up when she meets President Joe Biden, with the left-wing leader “open to sharing” her country’s experience.
The U.S. is still recovering from a mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, where a gunman shot and killed 19 children and two adults.
For its part, New Zealand is sadly no stranger to gun violence after a gunman attacked two mosques in Christchurch in 2019, killing at least 50 people.
Last week Ardern received standing ovations at Harvard University as she outlined her government’s commitment to enforcing strict gun control laws in the wake of that deadly assault, as Breitbart News reported.
The former president of the International Union of Socialist Youth will also meet with Vice President Kamala Harris at 10.30 on Tuesday morning, followed with a meeting with Biden at 11am, as outlined by White House officials.
The face-to-face constitutes the first visit of a leader from the South Pacific island nation since 2014 and comes amid mounting tensions in the Indo-Pacific region and a world still recovering from the coronavirus pandemic.
“Look, there’ll be a number of issues on the agenda as you can imagine, but really top of mind for us alongside obviously the war in Ukraine, is the situation in our region,” Ardern said, Stuff NZ reports. The outlet added Ardern’s readiness to share her experiences with gun control will be evident.
New Zealand’s position remains to back as much U.S. involvement in the regions – especially economically – as possible, although Ardern said it shouldn’t be just as a bulwark against expansionist China.
“We will be continuing to encourage the United States to really continue and strengthen engagement in our region, including economic engagement, which is really critical to our region,” Ardern said.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern looks on during a news conference on May 27, 2022 in San Francisco, California. California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Ardern established a new international partnership to address climate change. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
“What’s really important is that all of our relationships in the Pacific need to be built in their own right, not because another country is present. This cannot all be about China.”
Tuesday’s visit comes about a week after Biden’s trip to East Asia, where he met with leaders from Australia, Japan and India to discuss China’s buildup of artificial islands and naval bases and its partnership with other nations in the region to create military installations.
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