What happened

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at Government House in Auckland on 12 July 2026. India and New Zealand agreed to elevate their bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership.

The two leaders also supported early implementation of the India–New Zealand Free Trade Agreement and set a target to double bilateral trade by 2030.

What was discussed

The talks covered trade and investment, defence and security, agri-tech, sports, education, tourism, culture and people-to-people ties. The leaders also exchanged views on regional and global developments and reiterated cooperation in multilateral fora.

Following the talks, India and New Zealand witnessed the exchange of several Memoranda of Understanding and understandings in defence and maritime security, hydrography, sports, education, disaster management, dairy, tourism, maritime heritage, culture, food technology and ocean research.

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