Prime Minister Narendra Modi and New Zealand counterpart Christopher Luxon visited a sports technology exhibition in Auckland. The two leaders agreed to elevate bilateral relations to a strategic partnership and aim to double trade by 2030.
Focus on strategic partnerships and sports technology
auckland [न्यूजीलैंड]July 11 (ANI): Affirming that geographical distance is no barrier to economic and technological cooperation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his New Zealand counterpart Christopher Luxon on Saturday jointly evaluated a state-of-the-art sports equipment and technology exhibition in Auckland. During this, innovation was mentioned as the main basis of their recently formed strategic partnership.
The event, hosted by Prime Minister Luxon, gathered a high-profile group of global commerce, education, technology, sports and creative arts leaders to celebrate the historic upgrade of bilateral relations. Randhir Jaiswal, official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, monitored the meeting and said that the two Prime Ministers took a detailed walkthrough of New Zealand’s Innovative Sports Equipment Display, which saw the demonstration of cutting-edge technologies by some of New Zealand’s leading athletes and eminent sports personalities.
“PM @narendramodi took a walkthrough of New Zealand’s Innovative Sports Equipment Display with PM @chrisluxonmp. The leaders saw cutting-edge sports equipment and technologies showcased by some of New Zealand’s leading athletes and sports icons,” Jaiswal said in a post on Instagram. https://x.com/MEAIndia/status/2075811676461699080?s=20
Free trade agreement and bilateral trade goals
Earlier in the day, Randhir Jaiswal announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended a special event hosted by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. In a post on X, he said, “India-New Zealand: A winning partnership. Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended a special event hosted by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, which brought together leaders from business, education, technology, sports and arts. Both leaders welcomed the elevation of India-New Zealand relations to a strategic partnership. The PM highlighted the opportunities created by the recently concluded FTA, including opportunities for businesses, youth and farmers and doubling of bilateral trade by 2030. “Will help in achieving the goal of doing.” https://x.com/MEAIndia/status/2075805020508049613?s=20
Addressing the gathering, PM Modi strongly emphasized on the huge structural opportunities created by the recently concluded Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). He said the agreement is specifically designed to benefit businesses, youth and farmers, and will also accelerate the target of doubling bilateral trade by 2030. Reiterating the full economic potential of the trade agreement, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon underlined the immediate, high-value financial relief that this trade framework brings to Kiwi exporters trying to take advantage of India’s huge consumer base.
PM Modi also met prominent CEOs of New Zealand and India along with Luxon. In a post on X, Jaiswal said, “PM Narendra Modi met key CEOs of New Zealand and India along with PM Christopher Luxon. The discussions described the India-New Zealand FTA as a historic milestone and set an ambitious target of doubling bilateral trade by 2030. The leaders stressed on leveraging each other’s strengths and complementarities while deepening cooperation in trade, investment, innovation, sustainable agriculture and technology.” https://x.com/MEAIndia/status/2075782864013275478?s=20 https://x.com/narendramodi/status/2075779258652545133?s=20 https://x.com/narendramodi/status/2075775083231297583?s=20
Future Framework and High-level Dialogue
Earlier in the day, Luxon said, “New Zealand and India are on two ends of the Indo-Pacific, but distance is no barrier to us working together to grow our economies. That’s what we are doing through our free trade agreement, which will eliminate tariffs on 57% of goods sold to India from day one.” https://x.com/chrisluxonmp/status/2075740012881355110?s=20
The Prime Ministers directed Ministers and senior officials to maintain close contact and ensure timely implementation of the initiatives set out in the Roadmap 2030. They agreed that progress would be regularly reviewed by ministers and senior officials.
Prime Minister Modi thanked Prime Minister Luxon and the Government and people of New Zealand for their warm hospitality extended to him and his delegation. The two leaders agreed to maintain the momentum of high-level exchanges and realize the full potential of the India-New Zealand strategic partnership.
At the invitation of Luxon, Prime Minister Modi is on an official visit to Auckland, New Zealand on 10 and 11 July 2026. The visit, the first by an Indian Prime Minister to New Zealand in 40 years, is a historic milestone and begins a new chapter in the enduring friendship and partnership between the two countries. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianetnews Editorial staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)