President Barack Obama will welcome New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key to the White House next month for talks on a proposed Asia-Pacific trade pact, military cooperation and climate change.
The White House said in a statement that the June 20 visit “will highlight our increasingly close relationship with New Zealand.”
In addition to the vast 12-nation Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal currently being negotiated, Obama was also keen to discuss his policy of rebalancing diplomatic and military resources toward the Asia-Pacific region, the statement said.
Key scored a rare invitation from Obama to a top foreign leader, when he was asked to play golf with the US president during his annual Hawaii vacation in January.