India-New Zealand hold wide-ranging discussions on defence, trade during Foreign Office Consultations

India and New Zealand held the Foreign Office Consultations here in the national capital on Monday, focused on several aspects of the bilateral relationship such as defence, trade and education, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Monday.

Sharing the details in a post on X, the MEA said that the Foreign Office Consultations were led by Secretary (South) Neena Malhotra and Deputy Secretary (Asia Group & Americas) Grahame Morton.

MEA underscored that the consultations reaffirmed the commitment to deepen ties and continue with the momentum of high-level exchanges.


"India-New Zealand Foreign Office Consultations led by Secretary (South) Dr. Neena Malhotra and Deputy Secretary (Asia Group & Americas) Mr. Grahame Morton, were held today in New Delhi. Discussions covered the entire gamut of - bilateral relations, including defence, trade, education, sports, mobility, customs and people-to-people ties. The consultations reaffirmed commitment to deepen the - partnership and continue the momentum of recent high-level exchanges", MEA said on X.


The visit comes after, in August this year, Union Minister of State for Defence, Sanjay Seth, met New Zealand Defence Ministry's Head of International Branch, Kathleen Pearce, in New Delhi, reaffirming commitment to deepen cooperation across key strategic domains.

The Second Round of negotiations for the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) concluded successfully on July 25 in New Delhi, further advancing the shared objective of strengthening bilateral trade and economic partnerships.

According to a previous statement by the Ministry of Commerce, the Third Round of negotiations is scheduled to be held in New Zealand in September 2025. The intersessional virtual meetings will maintain the forward trajectory set in the second round.

India's bilateral merchandise trade with New Zealand reached USD 1.3 billion in FY 2024-25, recording a growth of 48.6 per cent over the previous financial year, signalling the growing potential of the economic partnership, the statement by the Ministry of Commerce highlighted. It further noted that the FTA is expected to enhance trade flows, support investment linkages, promote supply chain resilience, and establish a predictable and enabling environment for businesses in both countries.

India and New Zealand have historically shared close and cordial ties. Similarities such as membership of the Commonwealth, common law practices and pursuing shared aspirations of achieving economic development and prosperity through democratic governance systems for diverse communities in both countries provide an excellent backdrop for deepening the friendly ties, according to the Ministry of External Affairs. (ANI)