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New Zealand prime minister Chris Hipkins will visit Australia for the first time since landing the top job.
Hipkins will travel to Canberra today, where he will meet with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese at Parliament House, Australian Associated Press reports.
The visit is a show of prioritising his nation’s relationship with Australia.
Regional security will be high on the agenda, with Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific reaching Wellington through alleged political interference.
Albanese said he looked forward to “discussing ways to build on trans-Tasman cooperation”.
“Australia and New Zealand have an extremely close relationship, underpinned by our shared history and generations of personal, business and government links,” he said.
Speaking ahead of his one-day trip, Hipkins said his relationship with the Australian prime minister began with a “very warm” phone call and texts late last month.
“We’ve had a good conversation on the phone. I think we’re going to get along pretty well actually,” he said.
“Primarily [the trip] is just about prime minister Albanese and I having the opportunity to meet each other and get to know each other a little bit.”
Hipkins replaced Jacinda Ardern as New Zealand’s leader last month after the former prime minister announced her shock resignation.
This year will be an important milestone for Australia and New Zealand, marking the 40-year anniversary of the signing of the Closer Economic Relations Free Trade Agreement.
The visit also coincides with 50 years of the Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement.