Prior to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s planned trip to New Zealand, his colleague Christopher Luxon praised the proposed trade agreement between India and New Zealand on Thursday, claiming that it will provide New Zealand companies a significant boost by increasing their access to the Indian market.
Luxon highlighted the agreement’s economic advantages by stating that 57% of Wellington’s exports to New Delhi will be “tariff free from day one.” “New Zealand businesses are set to boom with our India Trade Deal. 57% of everything we export to India will be tariff free from day one,” Luxon said in a post on X. The announcement precedes Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day state visit to New Zealand, which is scheduled for July 10–11, at PM Luxon’s request. This will be the first official visit to New Zealand by an Indian prime minister in almost forty years.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit would concentrate on enhancing collaboration in important areas, such as trade, commerce, and defense, according to a government statement. Bilateral relations have “significantly accelerated in recent years,” especially in these domains, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.
Modi is anticipated to speak to a sizable assembly of the Indian diaspora and engage with prominent business and sports figures while in Auckland, demonstrating the close relations between the two nations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s three-country journey, which started in Indonesia on July 6 and is now in Australia, will culminate in New Zealand. The visit is a component of India’s larger initiative to strengthen ties with important Indo-Pacific countries, with an emphasis on increasing collaboration in commerce, investment, defense, technology, and vital minerals.
Additionally, it is anticipated that the visits would strengthen efforts to advance a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific and boost India’s Act East strategy.
The journey takes place in the midst of changing Indo-Pacific geopolitical factors, including as changing US-China ties and rising regional worries about Beijing’s more assertive moves.
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