Modi's New Zealand visit after 40 years puts India-NZ ties in focus
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold talks in New Zealand during a rare landmark visit. The trip could deepen trade and strategic ties, but immigration fears and coalition politics shadow the FTA.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to New Zealand from July 10 to 11, the first by an Indian prime minister in 40 years and the first since Rajiv Gandhi's visit in 1986, is being seen by experts as a major moment in bilateral ties. They said the visit could help take forward a relationship that has remained underdeveloped, especially after the recent signing of the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement.
At the same time, experts said the visit comes amid political and social friction in New Zealand. They pointed to anti-Indian rhetoric and resistance within the ruling coalition to the trade deal, with concerns being raised over immigration and its possible impact on the country's demographics.
Modi, who is on a three-nation tour of Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand, will arrive in Auckland on the final leg of his journey. He is scheduled to hold talks with his New Zealand counterpart Christopher Luxon and address the Indian diaspora. The visit builds on Luxon's trip to India last year and is expected to focus on deepening trade ties after the signing of the FTA.
The FTA will remove customs duties on 100 per cent of Indian exports and includes a USD 20 billion investment commitment from New Zealand into India over 15 years. The agreement, however, still needs formal ratification by both sides before it can come into force.
Sekhar Bandyopadhyay, director of the New Zealand India Research Institute, said that unlike the 1986 visit, which he described as a public relations success, this one is 'mired in political controversy from the beginning'. He said a coalition partner in the New Zealand government was spreading 'exaggerated' fears that the FTA could increase Indian immigration and change the country's demographics. On the trade deal, he said India could benefit from the transfer of New Zealand's 'world-class agro-technology and best practices in the production of apples, kiwi fruits and honey', while Indians would get greater access to New Zealand's service sector and labour market.
Jacqueline Leckie, associate professor at Victoria University of Wellington, called the visit a 'joyous time of celebration' for New Zealand's large Indian population. But she also said there was 'a lot of fear-mongering here about opening up Indian immigration', adding that 'it is imperative that this possibility does not exacerbate the exploitation of low-paid worker immigrants from India'.
Nicholas Smith, senior lecturer at the University of Waikato, said the visit could be a 'watershed' moment as New Zealand rarely hosts leaders of 'Modi's stature'. He said New Zealand First, a coalition partner in the current government, remained an obstacle to the FTA, and that the outcome of the visit would signal whether the deal was 'worth investing in'. On the Indo-Pacific, Smith said, 'New Zealand can learn from India's "multi-alignment" strategy, which has cultivated relationships across the geopolitical spectrum, and from the fact that India engages with the Indo-Pacific concept on its own terms rather than simply adopting the US-led version'.
Pushpa Wood, director of the Financial Education and Research Centre at Massey University, said, 'The FTA is an important first step (but) the biggest challenge is not signing the FTA but implementing it effectively.' She added that the Indian diaspora could play a crucial role as a bridge between the two countries by helping trade, investment, education partnerships and people-to-people links. Reuben Steff, associate professor at the Czech Republic's Mendel University, said the priority should be 'embedding regular leader-level and ministerial dialogues, an annual 2+2 or foreign ministers' meeting, so the relationship no longer depends on personalities or electoral cycles in either country'. He said both India and New Zealand were 'classic hedgers', economically tied to China but wary of its military rise. 'For New Zealand, India offers diversification away from over-reliance on the Chinese market; for India, New Zealand is a like-minded democracy with real stakes in the South Pacific, a region of increasing strategic contestation,' he added.
Sita Venkateswar, associate professor at Massey University, suggested three priorities to turn the visit into a lasting partnership. She called for a standing research partnership with joint projects, doctoral exchanges and an annual policy forum; a reciprocal skills programme in climate-smart agriculture, clean energy, water governance and digital technology with 1,000 youth placements by 2028 and annual tracking of outcomes; and climate cooperation as the signature effort, linking New Zealand's geothermal expertise with India's solar scale through ten demonstration projects by 2031 and six agriculture pilots by 2028. Taken together, the experts said Modi's visit offers a chance to expand trade and strategic engagement, even as concerns around immigration, domestic politics and implementation remain in focus.
With PTI Inputs
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to New Zealand from July 10 to 11, the first by an Indian prime minister in 40 years and the first since Rajiv Gandhi's visit in 1986, is being seen by experts as a major moment in bilateral ties. They said the visit could help take forward a relationship that has remained underdeveloped, especially after the recent signing of the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement.
At the same time, experts said the visit comes amid political and social friction in New Zealand. They pointed to anti-Indian rhetoric and resistance within the ruling coalition to the trade deal, with concerns being raised over immigration and its possible impact on the country's demographics.
Modi, who is on a three-nation tour of Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand, will arrive in Auckland on the final leg of his journey. He is scheduled to hold talks with his New Zealand counterpart Christopher Luxon and address the Indian diaspora. The visit builds on Luxon's trip to India last year and is expected to focus on deepening trade ties after the signing of the FTA.
The FTA will remove customs duties on 100 per cent of Indian exports and includes a USD 20 billion investment commitment from New Zealand into India over 15 years. The agreement, however, still needs formal ratification by both sides before it can come into force.
Sekhar Bandyopadhyay, director of the New Zealand India Research Institute, said that unlike the 1986 visit, which he described as a public relations success, this one is 'mired in political controversy from the beginning'. He said a coalition partner in the New Zealand government was spreading 'exaggerated' fears that the FTA could increase Indian immigration and change the country's demographics. On the trade deal, he said India could benefit from the transfer of New Zealand's 'world-class agro-technology and best practices in the production of apples, kiwi fruits and honey', while Indians would get greater access to New Zealand's service sector and labour market.
Jacqueline Leckie, associate professor at Victoria University of Wellington, called the visit a 'joyous time of celebration' for New Zealand's large Indian population. But she also said there was 'a lot of fear-mongering here about opening up Indian immigration', adding that 'it is imperative that this possibility does not exacerbate the exploitation of low-paid worker immigrants from India'.
Nicholas Smith, senior lecturer at the University of Waikato, said the visit could be a 'watershed' moment as New Zealand rarely hosts leaders of 'Modi's stature'. He said New Zealand First, a coalition partner in the current government, remained an obstacle to the FTA, and that the outcome of the visit would signal whether the deal was 'worth investing in'. On the Indo-Pacific, Smith said, 'New Zealand can learn from India's "multi-alignment" strategy, which has cultivated relationships across the geopolitical spectrum, and from the fact that India engages with the Indo-Pacific concept on its own terms rather than simply adopting the US-led version'.
Pushpa Wood, director of the Financial Education and Research Centre at Massey University, said, 'The FTA is an important first step (but) the biggest challenge is not signing the FTA but implementing it effectively.' She added that the Indian diaspora could play a crucial role as a bridge between the two countries by helping trade, investment, education partnerships and people-to-people links. Reuben Steff, associate professor at the Czech Republic's Mendel University, said the priority should be 'embedding regular leader-level and ministerial dialogues, an annual 2+2 or foreign ministers' meeting, so the relationship no longer depends on personalities or electoral cycles in either country'. He said both India and New Zealand were 'classic hedgers', economically tied to China but wary of its military rise. 'For New Zealand, India offers diversification away from over-reliance on the Chinese market; for India, New Zealand is a like-minded democracy with real stakes in the South Pacific, a region of increasing strategic contestation,' he added.
Sita Venkateswar, associate professor at Massey University, suggested three priorities to turn the visit into a lasting partnership. She called for a standing research partnership with joint projects, doctoral exchanges and an annual policy forum; a reciprocal skills programme in climate-smart agriculture, clean energy, water governance and digital technology with 1,000 youth placements by 2028 and annual tracking of outcomes; and climate cooperation as the signature effort, linking New Zealand's geothermal expertise with India's solar scale through ten demonstration projects by 2031 and six agriculture pilots by 2028. Taken together, the experts said Modi's visit offers a chance to expand trade and strategic engagement, even as concerns around immigration, domestic politics and implementation remain in focus.
With PTI Inputs
