While trade, tourism, education and cricket hogged most of the limelight during Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's recent four-day trip to India, subsequent announcements reveal the delegates on the mission managed to get a few other significant agreements over the line.
Here's a quick breakdown of the key items that were concluded:
Mobility of skilled workers
New Zealand and India have launched negotiations on an arrangement facilitating the mobility of professionals and skilled workers between the two countries, while also addressing the issue of irregular migration.
Importantly, these negotiations are expected to take place within the context of the ongoing trade agreement negotiations.
The announcement was included in a joint statement that was released after Luxon met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Defence cooperation
Signalling deepening defence ties, naval chief Rear Admiral Garin Golding met General Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of Army Staff, on 18 March and "discussed aspects of mutual interest to enhance bilateral defence cooperation".
Manufacturing
Mattress manufacturer Slumberzone New Zealand announced plans to invest $25 million to set up a production facility in the Indian state of Telangana during Luxon's trip.
The company aims to open exclusive Slumberzone outlets in major Indian cities, subsequently expanding to other international markets such as Europe and the United States.
Artificial intelligence
Another business collaboration that was announced during the prime minister's visit to India came from two revered brands in their respective countries.
National carrier Air New Zealand and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a prominent global player in providing IT services, signed a five-year deal on 20 March "to modernize the airline's digital infrastructure and position it at the forefront of AI-driven innovation".
"This collaboration aims to enhance Air New Zealand's digital capabilities, improve customer experience and drive operational efficiencies across various aspects of its business, including fleet management, crew scheduling and ground services," Air NZ said in a statement.
"A key focus will be workforce transformation, with TCS leading large-scale upskilling programmes to strengthen digital capabilities across Air New Zealand's teams in AI, cybersecurity and digital engineering."
Lawn bowls
The trip saw the signing of a memorandum of understanding between World Bowls, Bowls New Zealand and the Bowling Federation of India.
Brett O'Riley, president of World Bowls, described the signing as an "exciting milestone" for future of the sport in a post on social media.
"[The memorandum] will foster three-way cooperation, consistent with our World Bowls growth strategy in developing coaching, technical officials, new international competition, World Bowls Series events, bowls and equipment, and the development of our sport," he wrote.
"This is sports diplomacy and development in action, and I am delighted with the potential for this to grow our game."
This article was first published by RNZ
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