India, New Zealand share common values, common concerns: Envoy

NEW DELHI: India and New Zealand have warm and long-standing relationship and share common values and concerns, including in areas of counter-terrorism and cyber security, New Zealand's envoy Joanna Kempkers today said.

Addressing a gathering at the New Zealand-India Sustainability Challenge 2017 here, the High Commissioner also noted that "Hindi is now the fourth most spoken language in New Zealand."

"We both share common values, such as democracy, and sustainability, and we also have same worries. So, that means (working on) counter-terrorism and cyber security," she said.


Kempkers said the Indian community in New Zealand was contributing to the growth story of her country.

Sustainability is of important to us. A large part of energy in the country is sourced through renewable resources, she said.

"Over 80 per cent of the electricity is sourced from renewable sources. Also, New Zealand is planning to go carbon-free by 2020. So, we are on the path," the envoy said.

Six finalists, whittled down from 90 shortlisted teams, presented their ideas today to a jury at the event.

"Each team consisted of two students from Indian institutions and one from a university in New Zealand, who worked under a mentor," said an official of TERI, a partner of the competition.

The ideas pitched ranged from clean energy to waste management.

The three partnering universities from New Zealand are University of Canterbury, University of Otago and University of Waikato.