Barack Obama is now in New Zealand. He has left aside the worries of being president of the United States for two terms and is now in a relaxed mood trying to sharpen his reflexes with the golf club. He is on a three-day visit to the country and his plans to play golf, interact with community leaders, and exchange views with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
Daily Mail UK reports that the former U.S. president arrived after visiting Singapore. The public and the media will be allowed to be present only at the welcome ceremony. It is understood that he is not likely to interact with the media, and this has left a section of the people disappointed.
Obama's itinerary
The meeting has been organized by Sir John Key, former Prime Minister of New Zealand. They enjoy a good rapport and their association is an eight year one. They have met at various international forums and have also played golf together in Hawaii. In a statement, Barack Obama has mentioned the New Zealand and the United States are close friends and he had been wanting to visit the country for a long time.
After touching down in New Zealand, one of the first activities he did was to play a round of golf with Key. It was a friendly game in which Obama and his men played against Key and his team and the home team walked away with the honors.
The itinerary of the former president includes an event of the Obama Foundation.
It will be focused on indigenous Maori women leaders and regional and business leaders.
Day 2 of the visit
Barack Obama is on a three-day visit to New Zealand and will be in Auckland on the second day. According to the New Zealand Herald, he will meet with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and attend a program at Government House.
The welcome will be in Maori style known as powhiri in which there are speeches, dancing, singing and finally the hongi.
The agenda of the meeting between the former president of the United States and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has not been made public. Obama has already hinted that he would not like to comment on any topic that has political overtones.
Apart from the welcome program, there will also be discussions with actor Sam Neill. The venue of this will be the Viaduct Events Centre, and the gathering is expected to be upwards of 800.
Dinner will be a special one overseen by chef Peter Gordon from London. He has been specially flown in for the occasion. The menu will have local salmon as one option because Obama loves fish. There will also be steak as the special guest is from Chicago.
