NEW Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Sunday began a five-day visit to India with a focus on deepening the bilateral trade and economic ties. On Monday, Luxon will hold wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and will attend the inaugural session of the Raisina Dialogue as the chief guest. Days ahead of the trip, the New Zealand Prime Minister said he will push for a comprehensive economic partnership with India and explore ways to strengthen bilateral security ties.

 

Luxon is visiting India from March 16 to 20 in his first trip to the country as the Prime Minister. He is accompanied by one of the largest delegations a New Zealand Prime Minister has ever travelled with. The visiting leader was received at the Delhi airport by Union Minister SP Singh Baghel. “What I’m looking for is just a much more comprehensive economic partnership and how we’d move that forward, Luxon said last week, adding, “I am determined that we are going to change the trading relationships with India big time.”

 

The New Zealand PM also described India as an “important” power in the Indo-Pacific “India is an important power in the Indo-Pacific and I will discuss with PM Modi what more we can do together to maintain peace and prosperity in our region,” he said. Luxon said travelling with a senior business delegation will help increase trade and business opportunities and promote New Zealand as an investment destination. The delegation accompanying the New Zealand PM comprise Ministers, senior business leaders, a community delegation of prominent Kiwi Indians and several parliamentarians. Luxon will also visit Mumbai from March 19 to 20 before returning to Wellington. 

 

 

 

 

AFTER a gap of about ten years, India and New Zealand on Sunday announced resumption of negotiations for a proposed free trade agreement to boost economic ties. India and New Zealand began negotiating the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) in April 2010 to boost trade in goods, services, and investment. However, after nine rounds of discussions, the talks stalled in 2015. “The two nations are pleased to announce the launch of negotiations for a comprehensive and mutually beneficial India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations,” the Commerce Ministry said. The announcement was made after the meeting of Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Todd McClay, New Zealand’s Minister for Trade and Investment. 

 

 

 

“The India-New Zealand FTA negotiations aim to achieve balanced outcomes that enhance supply chain integration and improve market access,” it said. “With bilateral trade continuing to grow steadily, surpassing USD 1 billion during April-January 2025, the FTA negotiations aim to unlock new avenues for businesses and consumers, fostering mutual growth and prosperity of our nations,” Goyal said in a post on X. According to think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), India’s proposed FTA with New Zealand would have limited benefit to domestic companies as they are already enjoying duty-free access to a significant number of goods in that market.