Michael Fox, the newly-appointed Chair of India New Zealand Business Council (INZBC), is excited about leading a business delegation to Delhi from August 27-31.
In an exclusive chat with The Indian Weekender, Fox, who is also Head of Global Public Affairs and Communication at Zespri, talks about his new role, the upcoming trip to India, and NZ-India relations.
Q1. How excited are you about the upcoming business delegation to India?
It’s going to be a really great week. We have around 50 businesses and business leaders participating, and had more than 100 expressions of interest, showing just how enthusiastic people are about the relationship and the opportunity, and how willing they are to invest in it.
The business community has been strongly advocating for enhanced government investment in the relationship because of the opportunities it would help create.
There are some great examples of New Zealand businesses succeeding in India and Indian businesses here, but there’s room and ambition to do lots more, especially if we’re willing to think creatively and to invest appropriately.
INZBC is also holding our annual Summit in India for the first time since we launched it in 2014. It will give us an opportunity to hear from a lot of Indian investors and businesses as well as the opportunity to talk about the opportunities that New Zealand offers, directly to an Indian audience. That can be very powerful and we hope it leads to more opportunities.
Q2 How would you describe India-NZ business relations?
A work in progress–though there are some great examples of people who have got on with it already.
One thing we do know is that a comprehensive FTA [free trade agreement] would unlock the market significantly, but we’ve a way to go before we get there so we need to be looking at what we can do in the meantime to try and help to drive that. If we can establish stronger trading ties in lieu of a full agreement, it’s going to create a platform for us to get there. Making New Zealand stand out from the crowd is going to be important because the world is knocking on India’s door. We need to be able to show we offer real value in order for India to also invest in the relationship with New Zealand and to open the door to opportunities.
Q3 What do you think needs to be done to improve trade relations?
We need to do more business together for starters, but more than that we need to invest in our government-to-government relationship and also our cultural one. We must build trust and demonstrate how we can succeed together.
The INZBC report, India New Zealand: A Relationship Ready For Its Next Phase, lays out a roadmap for how we think the relationship can move forward, and we’ve been really encouraged by the government’s response to it and we look forward to seeing what concrete actions come out of it. That includes a focus on areas like education, tourism, diplomacy and direct air services.
Q4 What are the highlights of the delegation you are taking to India?
The fact that such a big delegation of New Zealand businesses is there for starters, and then the interest in engaging with them from the Indian side.
The India New Zealand Business Council Summit will be one highlight, with sessions focused on collaborating with a superpower and what India wants, alongside a session with those who are already succeeding in India, which should be really instructive.
We’re meeting with Invest India to hear about opportunities in India, NZTE is leading a day focused on local insights and we’re meeting with local chambers, including FICCI and CII, and discussing trade and economic policy to help inform our views on the way forward. There’s lots of great stuff to look forward to.
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