New Delhi and Wellington have agreed to increase bilateral cooperation during official talks last week. New Zealand hosted an Indian delegation for the fifth India-New Zealand Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) in the capital city on August 19.
The Indian delegation was led by the Secretary (East) of the Ministry of External Affairs of India, Saurabh Kumar; and co-chaired by Deborah Geels from the New Zealand foreign ministry. Officials said both the sides expressed satisfaction at the enhanced engagement between the two countries.
“There was appreciation on both sides about the fact that a lot had been done in the last one year following up on the visit of EAM Dr S Jaishankar,” India’s High Commissioner to New Zealand Neeta Bhushan said. “A large number of high-level delegations from India have visited New Zealand and there are some more in the pipeline.”
The two sides took note of the significant potential in the trade and economic sectors, and agreed to promote government-to-government and business-to-business interactions. High Commission Bhushan said New Zealand trade minister Damien O’Connor’s upcoming visit to India “will certainly help to promote interactions among businesses.
“A number of activities are also taking place, such as in the defence, education as well as S&T sectors,” Bhushan said.
Saurabh Kumar held bilateral meetings with the Chief Executive and Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Chris Seed, and Secretary of Defence Andrew Bridgman, as well. He also visited Auckland to meet with members of the city’s Indian diaspora at an informal dinner hosted by High Commissioner Bhushan.Saurabh Kumar said he met a cross-section of people from the Indian diaspora and exchanged views on ways to take forward business, culture and people-to-people cooperation. The next Foreign Office Consultations between the two countries will be held in India on mutually convenient dates, officials said.
Business and official level talks between India and New Zealand seem to have revived after India’s foreign minister Jaishankar visited Aotearoa in October 2022. His counterpart Nanaia Mahuta had then ruled out any possibility of a foreign trade agreement between the two countries, saying it wasn’t a priority for her government.
But on a visit to New Delhi in February this year, she said New Zealand sees India as a critical partner in the Indo-Pacific region, seeking to increase its economic resilience and ties with its international partners.
After wrapping up his New Zealand tour, Saurabh Kumar and a delegation from the Indian High Commission made an official visit to Samoa for the first Foreign Office Consultations with Samoan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, He also met Prime Minister Fiame Mata’afa, as well as the Indian diaspora in the country. According to the high commission's Facebook post, “Both sides discussed development partnership in ICT&Health, follow up on FIPIC 3 Summit, regional and multilateral cooperation in the Pacific, UN, and CHOGM.”
Kumar also met with the Indian diaspora in Samoa to express his appreciation for the efforts in enhancing people-to-people ties between India and the Pacific region.