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Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta has departed North America to return home to Aotearoa after concluding the last stage of her 17-day world trip. The final leg of her trip included a visit to Canada where meetings with government ministers included discussions about strengthening the relationship between Māori and the country's indigenous peoples.
The NZ Foreign Minister met with Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu and Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller in Ottawa to "outline a commitment to deepening links between Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand and First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples in Canada," Minister Mahuta said in a statement.
Mahuta also met with newly appointed Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly, Development Minister Harjit Sajjan, and International Trade Minister Mary Ng.
“This was a good opportunity to not only meet my counterparts face-to-face, but to discuss some of those issues important to our nations at this time, like climate change, COVID19 and indigenous relations."
"These meetings reinforced the importance of our countries’ strong friendship, commitment to address indigenous issues, work constructively on our common values and shared objectives both regionally and globally," Mahuta said.