Leaders of New Zealand and Finland shoot down question on age and gender

Ardern, 42, was quick to cut off the question. 

“I wonder whether or not anyone ever asked Barack Obama and John Key if they met because they were of similar age,” she said, in reference to the former prime ministers of New Zealand and the United States.

“We, of course, have a higher proportion of men in politics, it’s reality. Because two women meet, it’s not simply because of their gender.”

Marin, 37, who is in New Zealand with a Finnish trade delegation, emphasised the country’s growing trade ties.

“We are meeting because we are prime ministers,” she said in response.

She ends her visit to the southern hemisphere in Australia later this week.