What happened
India and New Zealand elevated their bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official visit to Auckland, New Zealand, on 10 and 11 July 2026. The two sides also endorsed the India-New Zealand Strategic Partnership: Roadmap to 2030 to guide joint action over the next four years.
The visit was described as the first by an Indian Prime Minister to New Zealand in 40 years. The leaders also welcomed the conclusion and signature of a balanced, comprehensive and mutually beneficial India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement and agreed to work for early entry into force and implementation.
Background and earlier position
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon visited India in March 2025. During that visit, India and New Zealand launched Free Trade Agreement negotiations and signed memorandums in defence, education, customs, horticulture, forestry, and sport.
The current Roadmap builds on that earlier engagement. The two countries already shared democratic values, people-to-people links, and Indo-Pacific interests, but the relationship had not previously been raised to a formal Strategic Partnership in the way announced now.
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