Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has confirmed the prospect of a free trade agreement (FTA) with India was raised during his meeting with Narendra Modi, with the Indian leader apparently receptive to the idea.
He said he remained “hopeful” such a deal could be reached this term — which has about two years left — in line with his pre-election promise. Securing an FTA would be a major deal for New Zealand, but formal negotiations haven’t been held in nearly a decade.
Speaking to reporters in Vientiane, Laos – where he is attending the East Asia Summit – Luxon said he and Modi “got on really well”. After their bilateral in the early hours of Friday, the pair were also seated together at a gala dinner.
“He was very warm and I have a lot of respect for him and for India. He had a lot of respect for our new Government as well and what we’re trying to do... We talked a lot about how these are two countries that should have a broader and deeper relationship.”
Luxon said the leaders wanted to “deepen” their trade relationship, noting India was the most populous country in the world and set to be the third-largest economy by the end of the decade. Modi invited Luxon to visit India during their chat.
When asked, Luxon confirmed the pair had spoken specifically about an FTA.
“We’ll pick that up again as [we] go into the visit [to India] in the New Year. But we spent a lot of our conversation about where are the areas in trade that we could advance where there is common interest and where it would be mutually beneficial for both countries.”
He said Modi was interested in an FTA and he was “hopeful” one would be achieved this term.
“That’s what we’re going to work towards and we’ll have more to say about that in the coming months and over the course of the next year.”
Luxon was hesistant to talk up any suggestion his meeting with Modi may kickstart FTA negotiation, saying he was focused on building a strong rapport with the Indian leader.
“We’re going to have a deeper trading relationship with India. No doubt about it ... that’s what we want to do is build out our deeper relationship and trading relationship with India.”
Later on Friday, Luxon attended the East Asia Summit. He was seated between Japan’s new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The Prime Minister made a beeline for Modi, a few seats down. The pair shook hands and spoke for about a minute.
Luxon said in a statement after the summit that the forum had provided a “valuable opportunity to engage with leaders on complex issues facing our region”.
He said that included geopolitical tensions and expanding trade.
”I emphasised the importance of regional security to our collective economic prosperity.”
He also announced New Zealand will hold an ASEAN-New Zealand Commemorative Leaders’ Summit in Malaysia in November 2025.
Next year is the 50th anniversary of relations between New Zealand and ASEAN. The Government hopes to upgrade our current economic relationship to a ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’ to mark the occasion.
In his opening comments, captured by media at the bilateral, Modi expressed his pleasure at finally meeting Luxon.
“This is our first in-person meeting, so I am very happy to see you. We spoke to each other in July on the phone, this was after [the Indian] elections. But I am very happy to have this opportunity of seeing you today and discussing some important issues.”
A statement released by the Indian Government following the bilateral said a number of topics, such as trade, investment, security, renewable energy, education, agri-tech, sports, tourism, space and people-to-people ties, were discussed.
“[The Prime Ministers] noted that frequent high-level contacts have imparted a strong momentum to bilateral relations. In this context, they recalled the recent visit of the President of India to New Zealand, which was a huge success.
“The Prime Ministers renewed their commitment to further strengthen cooperation in multilateral fora and reiterated their commitment to take the India-New Zealand relationship to greater heights.
“Prime Minister [Modi] extended an invitation to Prime Minister Luxon to visit India on mutually convenient dates, which he accepted.”
Jamie Ensor is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team based at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub Press Gallery office.