Industry Odisha Bureau, July 10: New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has highlighted the benefits of India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA). This comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2-day state visit to the country. He mentioned that 57% of New Zealand’s exports to India will become tariff free from the first day the agreement comes into effect.
PM Modi will be visiting New Zealand on July 10 and 11. This will be the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to the country in nearly 40 years. The two countries are expected to strengthen bilateral ties in trade, investment, and strategic cooperation during the visit.
In a post on X, Luxon said that the trade agreement would provide a major boost to New Zealand businesses by improving access to the Indian market.
“New Zealand businesses are set to boom with our India Trade Deal. 57 percent of everything we export to India will be tariff free from day one,” he wrote.
India and New Zealand signed the FTA in April this year. This agreement aims to increase bilateral trade, encourage investments and expand cooperation in goods and services. Under the agreement, all Indian exports will receive duty free access to the New Zealand market. In return, India will gradually remove tariffs on a large share of imports from New Zealand.
Earlier, while announcing Modi’s visit, Luxon described India as one of the world’s fastest growing major economies. He also called India a key economic partner for New Zealand. The FTA would create jobs, boost exports and support economic growth.
Modi will hold talks with Luxon on a range of issues during the visit. These include trade, commerce, investment, defence cooperation and regional security. The two leaders are also likely to review the implementation of the FTA and discuss expanding cooperation in technology, agriculture, education, and innovation.
