Tariffs on Clark's agenda

By RUTH BERRY

Helen Clark will urge Indian leaders today to ease prohibitive trade tariffs that prevent New Zealand from exporting many of its staples to the subcontinent.

The Prime Minister will this morning be formally welcomed in New Delhi by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the presidential palace Rashtrapati Bhavan, and will then meet Foreign Affairs Minister Natwar Singh.

She will pay a courtesy call on President Abdul Kalam, before meeting Opposition leader LK Advani and then meet the Prime Minister again later in the day for formal talks, followed by a state banquet.

Helen Clark said in Bangalore this week that "India has been very protectionist" with its tariffs, particularly on agricultural and forestry products.

The New Zealand Government has little hope of making immediate progress in this area and is focusing its short-term attention on fostering niche-market ventures in areas such as IT, a key strand of the visit.

India's software and service industry export revenue was estimated at US$12.5 billion ($18.3 billion) in the year to last March.

There has been a spectacular growth in the Indian IT sector and a corresponding growth in its IT global linkages.

Increasing the number of Indian tourists and students coming to New Zealand - areas in which there have been significant advances in recent years - is another priority.

"But if we can re-energise the joint trade commission, hopefully we can start to tackle some of these other long-term [tariff] issues," Helen Clark said.

New Zealand exported $163 million of goods to India last year and imported $184 million in return.

India, soon to be the world's most-populous country, is only New Zealand's 26th-largest trading partner.

Foreign Affairs Minister Phil Goff said last week that New Zealand was just "scratching at the surface" when it came to trade with India and could do much better.

Other issues on today's agenda include discussions on New Zealand's nuclear position and India's bid to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council.