Indian High Commissioner calls PM Modi’s New Zealand visit “historic”, first by an Indian PM in 40 years
Melbourne : Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to New Zealand is a “historic” milestone as it will be the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to the Pacific nation in four decades, Indian High Commissioner to New Zealand Muanpuii Saiawi said on Thursday, expressing hope that the visit will provide fresh momentum to bilateral ties.
Speaking ahead of Modi’s arrival on July 10, Saiawi said extensive preparations had been undertaken in coordination with the New Zealand government to ensure that the visit delivers substantive outcomes and strengthens bilateral engagement.
“Tomorrow we will be receiving Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This will indeed be a very historic visit because it will be after 40 years that any Indian Prime Minister has come to New Zealand. I have been working very closely with the New Zealand government to make this a very memorable visit in terms of the substance as well as the form and the protocol in logistics,” she said.
Highlighting the foundation of India-New Zealand relations, the High Commissioner said the two countries share warm and friendly ties based on mutual trust.
“India and New Zealand have warm and friendly relations, and our relations are formed based on mutual trust,” she said.
Saiawi also pointed to the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement signed in April this year, saying it would further expand cooperation in trade and commerce, maritime security, people-to-people ties, culture, tourism and counter-terrorism.
“We recently signed a free trade agreement in April this year, and this relationship will only go forward in terms of trade and commerce, maritime cooperation, people-to-people, culture, tourism and counterterrorism,” she said.
Expressing optimism ahead of the bilateral talks, she added, “We cannot wait to have the bilateral engagements happen on 11 July.”
PM Modi’s visit to New Zealand is the final leg of his three-nation tour, following engagements in Indonesia and Australia.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), PM Modi will visit Auckland from July 10-11 at the invitation of New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. The MEA described it as the first official visit by an Indian Prime Minister to New Zealand in four decades.
During the visit, PM Modi and Luxon will hold bilateral discussions and review the entire spectrum of India-New Zealand relations, which have witnessed significant progress in recent years, particularly in trade, commerce and defence cooperation.
The Prime Minister is also scheduled to interact with business and sports personalities in Auckland and address members of the Indian diaspora, reflecting the strong people-to-people connect between the two countries.
The visit follows the signing of the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement in April, which is expected to boost economic engagement and open new avenues for cooperation.
The two sides are also likely to discuss collaboration in areas including maritime security, culture, tourism, education and counter-terrorism.
