Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to embark on a historic first official visit to New Zealand. PM Modi will reach New Zealand on July 10 and will depart a day later. This is the first official visit by an Indian PM to New Zealand in nearly 4 decades.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced the visit on Friday, July 3, confirming that Modi will arrive in Auckland on July 10 and depart the following day. Luxon said, “Prime Minister Modi’s visit is historic, with this being the first to New Zealand by an Indian Prime Minister in 40 years.”
PM Modi’s visit comes at a crucial time as the two countries seek to strengthen their economic partnership. India and New Zealand had signed a Free Trade Agreement in April this year to further develop this partnership. Under the agreement, 100% of Indian exports to New Zealand will be exempt from duty. This removes earlier tariffs of up to 10 percent on key products such as textiles, leather, carpets, ceramics, and auto components.
In recent times, India has looked to sign trade agreements with several countries to get wider access to global markets to its exporters. The FTA with New Zealand is currently pending for approval in their Parliament.
New Zealand is looking to further strengthen its relationship with India as it seeks to access India’s huge markets for their goods and services.
This visit by PM Modi will seek to further strengthen this economic partnership. In addition to trade, other sectors like technology, tourism, and strategic cooperation between the two nations are likely to be on the agenda during the visit.
