Dozens of signs and billboards highlight Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's first official visit to India. Photo / RNZ
Dozens of signs and billboards highlight Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's first official visit to India. Photo / RNZ
Analysis by Adam Pearse
Adam Pearse is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team, based at Parliament. He is travelling with the PM's trade delegation to India.
India and New Zealand have agreed to restart negotiations for a free-trade deal.
Luxon will tonight give the inaugural address at India’s premier defence conference, the Raisina Dialogue.
As he boarded the Defence Force plane bound for India, Christopher Luxon promised his delegation they would “get a lot of stuff done and have fun doing it”.
He certainly hasn’t wasted any time, taking just a few hours to confirm trade talks with India are backon and by the ear-to-ear grin on his face and that of Trade Minister Todd McClay, the pair are definitely enjoying themselves.
The announcement that free-trade deal negotiations will restart next month, released by the Indian Government just as Luxon touched down on Sunday, kicks off his first visit to India with a bang and sets the tone for what could have been an uncomfortable week for the Prime Minister.
Despite efforts by the Government to downplay speculation ahead of the visit, the question of whether negotiations would restart after being on ice for about a decade was always going to dominate the agenda.
That was a rod Luxon made for his own back after promising to secure a deal by the 2026 election and the repeated criticism of the previous Labour-led governments and how they had fostered New Zealand’s relationship with the world’s most populous country.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon holds a stand-up for media on his first day in India. Photo / RNZ
But by answering that question in his first few hours on the ground in New Delhi, it shows an ability to get tangible results and gives Luxon’s other engagements in the subcontinent room to breathe.
Late tonight [NZ time], Luxon will meet with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi where it’s likely the pair will offer more high-level comments on a potential free-trade deal.
Shortly after, Luxon will give the inaugural address at the Raisina Dialogue, India’s premier defence and security conference.
Luxon’s speaking slot as chief guest is seen as a big deal. It’s the first time it’s been given to a non-European leader and comes at a time of heightened security tensions across the globe, thanks in large part to Russia’s war with Ukraine.
Regional security has become a topic of growing importance to New Zealand in light of China’s activity in the South Pacific. The Government is also weeks away from unveiling its plan for the next 15 years of defence spending.
India is similarly placed as it ramps up investment in its defence assets, also responding to an expanding Chinese presence, particularly in the Indian Ocean.
The parallels give Luxon an opportunity to speak to sympathetic ears when he calls for more defence co-operation with the subcontinent giant.
While securing another round of trade talks is a win, Luxon and McClay still have plenty to prove if they are to claim true progress.
A cheery Prime Minister Christopher Luxon gives a thumbs up as he arrives in India. Photo / Sky News Australia
The previous 10 failed bouts of negotiations show getting in a room together doesn’t guarantee a deal will be struck.
The last two prime ministerial visits to India, both made by Sir John Key in 2011 and 2016, resulted in positive comments about the prospect of a trade deal but it never eventuated.
Nevertheless, Luxon can be content with getting runs on the board early as he looks toward a week full of events designed to enhance ties between New Zealand businesses and what will become the world’s third-largest economy.
There’s no doubt Luxon’s mood would have only improved as he was whisked away from the airport in a black Mercedes and greeted with dozens of billboards and signs lining the roads, welcoming “Christopher Mark Luxon” to India.
To extend the cricket analogy, Luxon needs to maintain his strike rate over the coming days if he wants to compile an innings of substance.
