Jacinda Ardern has bid Donald Trump farewell and welcomed a new start with President-elect Joe Biden, saying the pair have a good foundation laid already.
Ardern told The AM Show she feels Biden already has a relationship with New Zealand - "and in foreign policy it's all about relationships".
Biden visited Aotearoa in 2016 in his role as Barack Obama's vice-President.
"You can see from pictures, he was genuinely moved by his visit and that provides a really good foundation for us," said Ardern.
"There's a lot of common ground there - you can already hear from some of the things he's talking about we have shared views on things like climate change, trade - areas where we do really need the US to step into that place."
As for Donald Trump, Ardern said while she had worked well with the Republican President, some of his decisions were lacking.
"He's certainly taken positions on things in an independent manner on things we can't be independent on," she said, using his withdrawal from the Paris Agreement as an example.
In June 2017 Trump announced the US would leave the agreement - one of the main aims of which is to find solutions to climate change.
The US formally withdrew from the Paris Agreement on 4 October - however Biden has promised when he is President, the country will rejoin it.
It's a decision in alignment with Ardern's values.
"We can't solve issues like global pandemics or climate change unless we work together," Ardern told The AM Show.
