The Indian community in New Zealand is anticipating deepening ties between the two countries as Prime Minister Christopher Luxon takes one of the largest ever delegations to India next week.
During the four-day trip to Delhi and Mumbai, Luxon will sit down with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, and deliver the inaugural address at Raisina Dialogue, India's premier defence and security conference.
Former National Party MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi (2008-20), who was part of the delegations Sir John Key took to India in 2011 and 2016, will be accompanying the PM this time as well.
"Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has always expressed a strong commitment to deepening our relationship with India. This visit - where he is leading such a large delegation there - emphasises the importance of cultivating bilateral relations, particularly in crucial areas such as trade, education, technology, tourism, and cultural exchange," Bakshi said.
The former MP called Luxon being invited to be the keynote speaker at Raisina Dialogue "a significant moment" in India-New Zealand relations.
"The PM will be the first non-European leader to do so. This gesture reflects India's readiness to improve relations with New Zealand and mirrors the growing recognition of India's global influence," he said.
Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi, New Zealand's first lawmaker born in India, served as a National MP from 2008 to 2020. Photo: RNZ / Blessen Tom
"Reflecting on my involvement in both delegations led by Sir John Key, which initiated important trade negotiations, I recall the significant progress achieved through ten rounds of discussions between our countries. This history serves as a promising backdrop for the future of our bilateral relationship."
Prominent businesswoman Rajna Patel, who is part of the community delegation accompanying the PM to India, agreed.
"Having a big community delegation shows the government is trying to bridge the relationship gap we have talked about for ages. When you work with the Indian community, you have to focus on building relationships first. The business part of it comes later. I hope I can contribute to the relationship part of it," she said.
Another prominent Kiwi-Indian businessman Sudesh Jhunjhunwala, chief executive of Sudima Hotels, noted India is a large growing economy and New Zealand should a part of that growth - be it through investment, tourism, education or free trade agreement.
"I hope the delegation [Jhunjhunwala is part of the business delegation accompanying the PM] can help bring the two countries closer using their established networks and business associations," he said.
"Indians already are a very large minority group in New Zealand. So we are close to India in a cultural sense, and now we need to leverage that to bring the two countries closer together. I am hopeful we can cement those ties with meaningful outcomes like direct flight connectivity with India, and side trade agreements which don't involve sensitive products like dairy."
Bharat Chawla, chair of India New Zealand Business Council (INZBC), welcomed the trip adding "industry collaboration is key to trading success".
"We have been working to build partnerships and collaborations with the Indian industry in areas such as kiwifruit, education, and fintech. And there has been so much movement in such a short time," Chawla said.
"Building a wider relationship focused on trade as well as cooperation in science, education, culture, and sport was a key recommendation of the INZBC report last year. It's great to see this being picked up in the relationship now."
New Zealand's exports to India have risen steadily after 2022, when it stood at $810 million.
In 2023, these were $1.22 billion, and $1.54b last year.
Though this is still lower than the total New Zealand exports to India in 2017, which were $1.87b - the highest over the last decade.
Sunil Kaushal, president of the Waitakere Indian Association, hopes the trip will give a much needed impetus to improving trade relations between the two countries.
"We are hoping for some major announcements from the two leaders during the trip," Kaushal said.
Manisha Morar, president of the Wellington Indian Association, expressed hope direct flights between the two countries was high on agenda.
"I think we will see more collaboration in the education sector, as was highlighted in Indian President Droupadi Murmu's address at the New Zealand International Education Conference in Wellington last year," Morar said.
"There is a strong emphasis in India on increasing access to our education system, which is a positive sign. [In addition to trade] there could be dialogue in sports and digital areas as well," she said.
Chawla, Morar and Kaushal are also part of the PM's delegation going to India next week.
This article was first published by RNZ