A week after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at a Texas elementary school, President Joe Biden welcomed to the White House New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who, too, has led a country through the aftermath of a mass shooting. 

In March 15, 2019, a lone shooter carried out two attacks on mosques in  Christchurch, New Zealand, killing 51 people and injuring 40 others. Ardern immediately pushed for gun reforms, and less than a month later, New Zealand’s Parliament overwhelmingly banned the sale of military-style semi-automatic and assault rifles.

“Can I bring the sincere condolences of the people of Aotearoa New Zealand for what you have experienced in Texas and New York? And it's been devastating to see the impact on those communities,” said Ardern, who also reference the apparent racist supermarket shooting in Buffalo, New York, that left 10 people dead on May 14. 

Aotearoa is the Maori name for New Zealand.

“Our experience, of course, in this regard is our own, but if there is anything that we can share that would be of any value, we are here to share it,” Adern continued.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office before their closed-door meeting, Biden, who visited Uvalde, Texas — the site of last week's school shooting — said there’s “an awful lot of suffering.”

“We've been to more mass shooting aftermaths than, I think, any president in  American history unfortunately,” Biden said. “It's just so much of it is preventable, and the devastation is is amazing.”

According to the White House, Biden and Ardern planned to advance the countries’ partnership and discuss their shared vision on a free and open Indo-Pacific.

“You've been one of our closest partners with a long history of friendship,” Biden told Ardern. 

“We've spoken on several occasions, and what stood out to me on both those occasions where we traversed such similar issues and not least, of course, our shared history,” Ardern said.

Earlier this month, the Biden administration and a dozen other nations, including New Zealand, launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity. The initiative aims to promote fair trade between its members, make supply chains more resilient, address climate change and root out corruption. 

“The IPEF presents a significant opportunity to build the economic resilience of our region,” Ardern said. 

Biden stressed that the U.S., New Zealand and other countries must work together to tackle major issues.

“We are not coming to dictate or lay down the law,” Biden said. 

They also thanked each other for their efforts supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia.

“I also want to acknowledge your significant leadership on Ukraine and how important that has been not only to us, as we've looked to play a role as well, but globally, as we look to make sure that we strengthen the international response to what is a threat to our values and, of course, the territorial sovereignty of Ukraine,” Ardern said.