New Zealand Chief Executive Chris Whelan said he received a notification last month that a donation of $ 30,000 (NZ $ 51,580) for a function in Washington was canceled.
“Unfortunately, we received a letter advising that, under President Trump’s executive order, reevaluating and aligning the US foreign aid, that the financing was canceled. No other reason was given,” said Whelan.
He said US State Department financing included travel through a New Zealand delegation to the US.
Whelan said the event would have marked 150 years since the United States sent scientists to this country to observe the planet Venus passing between the sun and the earth.
“The partnership dates back to the 1874 Venus traffic. The United States sent two scientific expeditions to New Zealand to this end. One for Chatham Islands, another for Queenstown,” he said.
Whelan said New Zealand universities are working on the project with the US embassy in Wellington.
“It was seen as highly desirable to mark a big milestone, 150 years of scientific collaboration between our countries and a well-being event and a good chance of promoting New Zealand in the United States,” he said.
He said there were no plans at this stage for an alternative event and people were disappointed, but understood that this financing could be changed with a change of government.
