Zoom through Asia beats Zoom meeting
PM’s first overseas trip in two years chance to build relationships in person
One moment she’s smiling at dancing kiwifruit mascots, the next she’s sitting down with the leader of a world powerhouse for the first time and agreeing to step up intelligencesharing.
Jacinda Ardern’s “bang for your buck” tour across Singapore and Japan traversed the entire spectrum from fun to serious.
There will always be conjecture about whether such trips are worth it, but few would argue there is no benefit at all from the Prime Minister’s first trip overseas in over two years.
Headline benefit: she was overseas for the first time in over two years.
It means tourists can see the borders are open, and Ardern can directly invite them to visit – an opportunity she plugged every chance.
It means she can sit down with other world leaders and have free and frank and Zoom-less discussions about how to support peace and stability, under the looming shadow of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and China’s intentions in the Pacific.
And it means business leaders, who paid their own way on the trip, can leverage her presence for networking.
The country-to-country business partnerships are hoped to lead to tangible developments in renewable energy, “green lane” flights, and a growing innovative food sector.
Some businesses, though, appeared to have different views on the leveraging opportunity; Fonterra boss Miles Hurrell, for example, flew commercially instead of on the RNZAF Boeing 757, and told Newsroom the trip was a great chance to visit Fonterra’s Singapore office — which doesn’t need a PM’s visit.
It’s also easy to be sceptical about the size of the wins. One partnership agreement is for supplying kiwifruit powder as a beauty product.
“From where I sit, in terms of deliverables it seems a bit on the light end, if you compare it to some previous trips,” says Asia NZ Foundation chief executive Simon Draper, a former diplomat.
“That said, a dictum of offshore trips is that they are always a success, whatever happens. It’s just a matter of degree.”
It’s possible none of the potential benefits will trickle down to the average Kiwi, unless they’re involved in tourism or, for instance, making plant-based beef jerky.
There are also less tangible benefits from having like-minded friends overseas who want peace and prosperity in the region.
It remains to be seen how the joint statements with Singapore and Japan will affect the likelihood of the militarisation in the Pacific.
That may depend on how China responds, and how the US responds to China’s response.
The schedules in Singapore and Japan were very similar. There were lots of photo opportunities, interviews with local media, business and trade events focused on climate change and sustainability, and bilateral talks.
Yesterday, she wrapped up her last day in Tokyo with scheduled events. It started with a quick visit to a Cookie Time Store. She was then gifted a Japanese national women’s team rugby jersey while at a stadium while relaunching a high school programme, where Japanese students can live in New Zealand, play rugby and learn English.
Stressing the importance of faceto-face diplomacy, Ardern met her Japanese host sister who stayed in Morrinsville with the Ardern family 30 years ago.
In-person interactions between cultures showed their value throughout the trip; Singapore and Japanese officials shared several of their own positive experiences in New Zealand at various events.
For Ardern, face-to-face chats were held with new friends as well as old ones.
Her first sit-down with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was a particular point of interest. She had one with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong too, but they’ve met before and have a good rapport.
How she would connect with Kishida, the leader of a far more powerful country, was an unknown.
One of Ardern’s strengths, though, is her in-person warmth, charm and humour, attributes John Key also had, though in a very different way.
Her brief interactions with Kishida that the media were allowed to watch were cordial, including a comical moment where he offered a fist-bump to her handshake, then a hand-shake to her fist bump. When their hands finally met and shook, Ardern made a quip about a potential high five.
Yesterday she wasn’t shy about sharing the fact her team’s dinner with Kishida’s went an hour longer than scheduled. It will likely take more than that before they’re friendly enough for her to quickly drop a message to him in WhatsApp.
But friends in high places — Japan is the world’s third biggest economy — are very valuable to little countries at the bottom of the world.
“It’s crucial for our PM and ministers to start re-establishing ties in the region — and it was particularly important for PM Ardern to connect with PM Kishida for the first time,” Draper said.
Ardern needing to pass four Covid19 tests — and having five just to be extra sure — to make it through the trip is a small inconvenience when viewed in this light.
The pandemic has left us isolated. But with the travel shackles released, this is only the first of many overseas trips for Ardern this year.
A dictum of offshore trips is that they are always a success, whatever happens. It’s just a matter of degree. Simon Draper