Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has pointed to the hefty cohort of Indian students and the popularity of the Hindi language in New Zealand ahead of Indian President Droupadi Murmu’s visit next week.
Murmu will be in New Zealand from August 7-9 in what will be only the second time an Indian head of state will be visiting Aotearoa.
Luxon’s office issued a press release on Tuesday announcing the visit. “New Zealand is home to about 300,000 people of Indian origin…Hindi is the fifth most spoken language in New Zealand, and Indian students also make up the second largest cohort of international students.”
Murmu’s visit is widely expected to amplify the heightened tempo at which Luxon has been courting India ever since he became the prime minister last year. In his first response to Murmu’s impending visit, the prime minister underscored this surge in diplomatic activity.
“President Murmu’s visit is particularly welcome at a time of increased engagement between the New Zealand and Indian Governments. The visit will also highlight our strong people-to-people and cultural links,” Luxon said.
“I spoke with Prime Minister Modi 10 days ago. Having already visited India this year, the Deputy Prime Minister met the Indian Foreign Minister this past weekend in Laos. The Minister for Trade made another visit to New Delhi last week for meetings with his counterpart.”
McClay hopes to visit New Delhi in August for what will be his fifth meeting with his Indian counterpart Piyush Goyal in eight months, as he hopes to improve bilateral relations. Luxon is also widely expected to visit India later this year, in line with his election promise of visiting the country in his first year in office.
McClay met Piyush Goyal in Rome a few days back on the sidelines of the G7 meeting of trade ministers, and followed it up with a surprise visit to Delhi just a few days later while returning back home.