Goff seeks to lift tourism, film and trade deals with India

NEW DELHI - India and New Zealand have pledged to increase their two-way trade from $500 million annually.

India's External Affairs Minister, Natwar Singh, and his New Zealand counterpart, Phil Goff, have also discussed in New Delhi the possibility of increasing co-operation in tourism and the film industry, said Government spokesman Navtej Sarna.

Many Indian film producers are finding New Zealand an attractive location to shoot movies.

The two leaders also discussed regional and international issues, including the recent improvement in India-Pakistan relations and the situation in Fiji, the New Delhi spokesman said. Ethnic Indians make up 44 per cent of Fiji's 820,000 population, but are deeply resented by many indigenous Fijians.

A coup in May 2000 toppled the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry - Fiji's first ethnic Indian premier.

Mr Goff's visit to New Delhi follows Prime Minister Helen Clark's trip to the subcontinent in October last year - the first official visit to India in 19 years by a New Zealand leader.

Despite India's size and its economic growth during the past decade, it remains New Zealand's 26th largest trading partner.

- NZPA