Transcript of Special briefing by MEA on Official visit of Prime Minister of New Zealand to India (March 17, 2025)
India - Ministry of External Affairs
March 17, 2025
Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Good afternoon friends. I welcome you to this special briefing by Secretary East, Shri Jaideep Mazumdar, on the ongoing official visit of Prime Minister of New Zealand. We are also joined by Shrimati Paramita Tripathi, Joint Secretary who looks after Oceania and Indo-Pacific Division in the Ministry of External Affairs.
With that, I invite Secretary, sir, to make his opening remarks. Sir, over to you.
Shri Jaideep Mazumdar, Secretary (East): Thank you, Randhir, and a very good afternoon to you all, to this special briefing on the visit of the New Zealand Prime Minister to India.
I will start with a few opening comments and a description of the broad contours of the visit, including the program. And subsequently, I will try to answer any questions that you might have. So, at the invitation of the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, the Rt. Honorable Christopher Luxon is on an official visit from 16th to the 20th of March.
This is his first visit to India in his current capacity as Prime Minister. He is, of course, no stranger to India. He has been here multiple times in his previous incarnations as a business leader.
He is the chief guest of the 10th Raisina Dialogue this year, and will deliver the keynote address later today evening. As you know, there have been several high-level contacts between India and New Zealand in the past year. Prime Minister Luxon had telephonically congratulated Prime Minister Modi after he won his third term as Prime Minister.
And Prime Minister Modi had also met Right Honorable Christopher Luxon on the margins of the East Asia Summit in Laos in October this year. Rashtrapati ji undertook a very successful visit to New Zealand in August last year, at which time Prime Minister Luxon had also called on Honorable Rashtrapati ji. So, as I said, Prime Minister Luxon arrived in New Delhi on the 16th yesterday.
He was warmly received by the Minister of State for Fisheries, Professor S.P. Singh Baghel, at the airport, and was also accorded a Static Guard of Honor reception. Prime Minister is accompanied by three Cabinet Ministers, the Minister for Tourism and Hospitality, the Minister for Ethnic Communities, Sports and Recreation, and the Minister for Trade and Investment, Agriculture and Forestry. He is accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising of officials, businesspersons, representatives of the community, media and cultural groups.
As he himself said, this is the largest delegation that has ever accompanied a Prime Minister of New Zealand to any foreign country. External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar called on Prime Minister Luxon last evening. Today is the main day of official bilateral engagements.
Prime Minister Luxon visited Rajghat to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi. This was followed by extensive bilateral talks, both in the restricted, as well as delegation level at Hyderabad House. The talks covered the entire gamut of our bilateral relations looking forward in terms of defense and security, trade and investment, education and sports, tourism and people-to-people ties.
The two Prime Ministers also shared their perspectives on global and regional issues, including on multilateral cooperation. They both witnessed the exchange of bilateral documents and MoUs in various fields. One was an MOU on Defense Cooperation, another was an Authorized Economic Operator - Mutual Recognition Agreement, a third on Memorandum of Cooperation on Horticulture, fourth was Letter of Intent on Forestry, fifth was on Education Cooperation and the sixth was as a Memorandum on Cooperation in Sports.
The two Prime Ministers also announced the launch of negotiations between India and New Zealand towards a balanced and mutually beneficial free trade agreement in a time-bound manner. Further, we were pleased to also welcome New Zealand to join the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative, IPOI, as well as the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure. The Joint Statement has been issued and it is available on the Ministry of External Affairs website.
The exchange of MOUs was followed by statements to the media by both the Prime Ministers, which you must have witnessed, and a banquet lunch was also hosted by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in honor of the visiting Prime Minister at Hyderabad House. Prime Minister Luxon is also scheduled to call on Honorable Rashtrapati Ji at Rashtrapati Bhawan in a little while. Prime Minister Modi will inaugurate the 10th edition of Raisina Dialogue, where Prime Minister Luxon is the Chief Guest, and he will deliver the inaugural keynote address.
Shri J.P. Nadda, Minister of Health and Family Welfare, will also call on Prime Minister Luxon tomorrow. Tomorrow he is also likely to participate in a business event and address IIT Delhi. The Mumbai leg of the visit is on 19th and 20th of March, when he will meet the Governor of Maharashtra, Shri C.P. Radhakrishnan, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Devendra Fadnavis, and leading Indian business leaders.
Prime Minister Luxon is also scheduled to visit the Indian naval ship INS Surat and the Royal New Zealand ship HMNZS Te Kaha, which is making a port call in Mumbai. Prime Minister Luxon will depart for New Zealand from Mumbai late on the night of March 20th. So far, this has been a highly substantive and productive visit with several positive outcomes.
Both leaders share a great rapport, which was quite evident. It has helped push the agenda for an ambitious India-New Zealand partnership going forward. If you have any questions, I will take them now.
Sidhant Sibal, WION: Hi, sir, Sidhant from WION. My question is how much India is concerned regarding Khalistani extremist elements getting space in New Zealand was talked about? Last year we saw the so called Referendum being organized by them. How much this was discussed and what was the assurance India got from New Zealand?
Shivam Patel, Reuters: Hi sir, Shivam Patel from Reuters. Could you please explain the MOU on defense please?
Huma Siddiqui, Financial Express: Sir I am Huma Siddiqui. You talked about ... there was an agreement on the mobility, so if you can share more details. And as far as the agriculture sector is concerned, was that also discussed?
Shri Jaideep Mazumdar, Secretary (East): I will take these three.
So Sidhant asked the question about Khalistan. Yes, certainly, this was an issue that came up and you would have seen references to that in Prime Minister's media statement as well. We do our friends to the activities of anti-India elements in their countries and their abuse of freedom of speech and other democratic freedoms to glorify terrorism, and to threaten attacks against our diplomats or our parliament or our events in India. So these were also conveyed. And I must say that the Government of New Zealand has been receptive as well as has taken our concerns on board in the past as well. And this was also the reaction that we got today.
On Defense, the MoU covers exchange of visits, exchange of training, exchange of ship visits to each other's ports and joint activities, training, etc. It is really a large omnibus agreement. As you know, we already have a white shipping information exchange agreement with New Zealand and this is taking our relationship, especially our Naval relationship, forward.
On mobility, both sides have agreed on two things. One is to move forward our FTA discussions in a time-bound manner and at the same time also take forward our discussions on mobility for skilled professionals. So that is not an agreement that has been arrived at, it is a decision to advance these discussions.
On agriculture, especially on forestry, which was also discussed. As you know, New Zealand is very strong in the areas of forestry, so technical cooperation and capacity building in forestry was a specific subject that was discussed. As well as in the case of horticulture, we have an agreement, an MOU that was signed in horticulture; so fruits, especially kiwi fruit production in India, is something that comes under this particular MoU and capacity building in that direction.
Ubeer, The Tribune: Sir this is Ubeer from the Tribune. Can you please elaborate on the MoU signed with New Zealand on Forestry, Sports and Horticulture?
Krishna Mohan Sharma, Bharat Express: Sir Krishna Mohan Sharma from Bharat Express. CPTPP pe aur kyaa age kuch baat hui isme, ya jo baat humari pehle chal rahi thi usi pe hui? Kafi hadd se progressive agreement par ...?
[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi] Sir, Krishna Mohan Sharma from Bharat Express. Was there any further discussion on CPTPP, or was it just a continuation of our previous discussions? To a great extent, was it on a progressive agreement ...?
Umashankar Singh, NDTV: Umashankar, NDTV se. New Zealand ke PM ne apne press statement me kaha ki India me diplomatic presence New Zealand badhaye ga karke, yaha bahut sambhavana hain. To uska kya khulne ka consulate ya kya yaha pe staff badhega?
[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi] Umashankar from NDTV. In its press statement, New Zealand's PM said that New Zealand will increase its diplomatic presence in India, as there is a lot of potential here. So, does that mean a consulate will be opened, or will the staff here be increased ?
Kadambini Sharma: Sir Kadambini Sharma, independent journalist. Sir tourism aur education par kin points pe baat hui?
[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi] Sir, Kadambini Sharma, independent journalist. Sir, on which points was the discussion held regarding tourism and education, on which specific points?
Shri Jaideep Mazumdar, Secretary (East): Forestry ke bare mei main already explain kiya ki kiskis area me hum cooperation karne ja rahe hain and also in horticulture. Sports ke bare mei training of our sportpersons, sport medicines and these are the areas that we wish to cooperate with New Zealand and the MoU takes this forward.
[Approximate Translation: Answer in Hindi] I have already explained about forestry, including the areas in which we are going to cooperate, and also in horticulture. Regarding sports, it includes the training of our sportspersons, sports medicine, and these are the areas in which we wish to cooperate with New Zealand. The MOU takes this forward.
So this is an enabling MOU that will get New Zealand sports expertise to India. As you know, New Zealand is a sporting nation; per capita, apparently they have the highest number of Olympic medals in the world. So it is a country with which we will definitely gain in our sporting abilities in diverse areas in cooperating with New Zealand.
So in the free trade agreement, CPTPP ke bare mei keh rahe hain. So this is a process which has been initiated ki hum ek free trade agreement ki taraf ja rahe hain. But in a time bound manner. Perhaps by the end of this year, we hope to conclude a free trade agreement.
[Approximate Translation: Answer in Hindi] So, regarding the free trade agreement, talking about CPTPP. This is a process that has been initiated, where we are moving towards a free trade agreement, but in a time-bound manner. Perhaps by the end of this year, we hope to conclude a free trade agreement.
On the strengthening diplomatic presence, Prime Minister Luxon, he did say that this is one of their priorities to enhance their diplomatic presence in India, and he stated that they were planning to increase the strength of their embassy in India in a major way, Embassy and Consulate in a major way.
On tourism, one of course is that only about 72,000 odd New Zealand tourists visited India but it is not too small considering that New Zealand is a population of only 5.5 million. From the Indian side, about 156,000 Indian tourists went to New Zealand last year. This could of course be increased but one issue is of course we don't have direct flights. This is something both sides touched upon, the importance of direct flights between India and New Zealand. It is a long standing request from the diaspora but also from business persons who want to travel frequently between the two countries. So this is being explored firstly when Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters was in India in March last year. The air services agreement was updated. We now have an open skies policy with New Zealand. It's really for the private sector airlines to look at the potential of direct flights and act on it.
On the education side, Prime Minister Modi welcomed presence of New Zealand universities and campuses in India but really there are many models of cooperation. It could be in terms of curriculum exchange, it could be in terms of sharing of degrees where students could do part of their courses here, partly in New Zealand. So every model of education cooperation is open to the New Zealand side.
Sarjana Sharma, Sanmarg Newspaper: Sir, main Sarjana Sharma hoon, Sanmarg Newspaper se. Sir, jaise New Zealand mein bahut saare Indians hain jo illegally sponsor kartehain. Maan lijiye kisi yaha ke travel agents se unka sampark rehta hai. Aur jis ko woh le ke jaate hain, who bhi paisa leta hai aur agent bhi paisa letahai. Bahut saare log Gurudwaron mein ruke huye hain jo pakde gaye hain. Toh iske bare mein, sir, Bharat sarkar kuch kade niyam banayegi kya? Wahan jaake woh log student bhi suffer kar rahe hain aur jo log kaam keliye jaate hain, who bhi suffer karte hain.
[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi] Sir, I am Sarjana Sharma from Sanmarg Newspaper. Sir, many Indians in New Zealand are involved in illegal sponsorships. For example, they stay in contact with travel agents here. The people they take along also pay money, and the agents take money as well. Many people who have been caught are staying in gurdwaras. So, sir, will the Indian government implement strict regulations regarding this? After going there, both students and those who go for work are suffering.
Neeraj Kumar Dubey, Prabhasakshi: Sir, namaskar, main Neeraj Kumar Dubey Prabhasakshi se. Sir, dono deshon ke pradhan mantri ne Hind Prashant kshetra mein chunauti purnaran niti drishtikon par bhi charcha ki hai. Uske bare me in kuch vistaar se jankari?
[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi] Sir, greetings, I am Neeraj Kumar Dubey from Prabhasakshi. Sir, the Prime Ministers of both countries have also discussed the challenging strategic perspective in the Indo-Pacific region. Could you provide some detailed information about it?
Shri Jaideep Mazumdar, Secretary (East): Aapka pehla prashna jo hai student ke bare mein. Bharat sarkar is par sakht karwai kartah ai. Jab bhi aisa koi example hamare saamne aata hai, toh jo law enforcement agencies hain, unke through agents ke khilaf action liya jata hai. Aur hum hamare high commission aur consulate jo hain waha pe ya kisi bhi desh mein ho, unsebhi hum khabar lete hain ki kaunsa agent hai jisne aise logon ko bhadkake leke gaya hai. Toh tab hum police authorities ko ye information provide karte hain aur aisi karwai hoti rehti hai. Ye normal cheez hai. Aur hota rahegaa bhi.
Doosra prashnatha Indian Ocean region mein hamara jo cooperation hai. Jaise maine kaha, New Zealand ne Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative mein bhagidari liya hai iss baar, pehli baar. Ye woh log bhi chahte hain aur hum bhi chahte hain ki dono desh Hind Mahasagar mein safety, security, prosperity, stability in sab pe ek saath kaam karein.
[Approximate Translation: Answer in Hindi] Your first question is about students. The Government of India takes strict action on this matter. Whenever such an instance comes to our attention, action is taken against the agents through law enforcement agencies. We also gather information from our high commission and consulates, whether in that country or elsewhere, to identify which agent has misled and taken people illegally. We then provide this information to the police authorities, and such actions continue to take place. This is a normal procedure, and it will continue.
The second question was about our cooperation in the Indian Ocean region. As I mentioned, New Zealand has participated in the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative this time, for the first time. They also want, and we also want, both countries to work together on safety, security, prosperity, and stability in the Indian Ocean.
We are all for an ... Open Oceans, freedom of navigation, open commerce and region that is free from any intimidation where prosperity, stability and peace rein. So these are common objectives of both India and New Zealand and this is our vision for the Indo-Pacific, and we are glad that New Zealand has also joined the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative to uphold these interests and these principles.
Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Thank you. With that ladies and gentlemen we come to the close of this press conference. Thank you very much.
Shri Jaideep Mazumdar, Secretary (East): Thank you.
New Delhi
March 17, 2025
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