Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday concluded his three-nation tour of Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand, departing for India after holding extensive talks with New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon that elevated bilateral ties to a Strategic Partnership and produced a wide-ranging set of agreements across key sectors.
During the two day visit, Prime Minister Modi held talks with his New Zealand counterpart, Christopher Luxon. The two leaders witnessed the exchange of five Memoranda of Understanding in areas including defence, tourism, sports, disaster management, and dairy and animal husbandry.
A major highlight of the visit was the community event at Auckland’s Spark Arena, attended by over ten thousand members of the Indian diaspora. Addressing the gathering, Modi stated that the future of India and New Zealand is intertwined and the bilateral trade agreement will accelerate India’s journey towards a developed nation.
On this occasion, Prime Minister Luxon described India as a trusted friend, praised the contribution of the Indian community to New Zealand’s progress, and appreciated Prime Minister Modi’s leadership. Prime Minister Modi thanked Prime Minister Luxon for his warm hospitality and said the visit had opened a new chapter in India-New Zealand relations. Referring to the 40-year gap since the last visit by an Indian Prime Minister, he said the next visit would not take so long.
In a post on X, PM Modi said, “My gratitude to PM Luxon, the Government and people of New Zealand for the exceptional warmth during this fruitful visit. This visit, the first by an Indian Prime Minister in four decades, has opened an important new chapter in our relations. Our decision to elevate ties to a Strategic Partnership, the progress on trade and investment and the renewed momentum in defence, education, culture, sports and people-to-people exchanges reflect the growing depth of our friendship.”
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said PM Modi’s New Zealand visit had strengthened bilateral ties and delivered significant outcomes.
“A visit that deepened bonds, strengthened partnerships and shaped a shared future. After concluding substantive discussions and overseeing key set of outcomes in New Zealand, PM Narendra Modi departs for India. In a special gesture, he was seen off by PM Christopher Luxon at the airport. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s three-country visit to Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand delivered significant outcomes advancing cooperation across several sectors including trade, technology, security, education, innovation and people-to-people exchanges among others,” Jaiswal said in a post on X.
During his visit, PM Modi held talks with Prime Minister Luxon at Government House in Auckland after being accorded a traditional Māori welcome and inspecting a Guard of Honour.The two leaders also reviewed the full spectrum of bilateral relations, with discussions covering trade and investment, defence and security, agri-tech, sports, education, tourism, culture and people-to-people exchanges.
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