CrackitToday App

India-New Zealand Strategic Partnership: Roadmap to 2030

Kumari Sonali

India-New Zealand Strategic Partnership: Roadmap to 2030

The Prime Minister of India paid a historic official visit to New Zealand, the first by an Indian Prime Minister in four decades, during which both countries elevated bilateral ties to a Strategic Partnership and adopted the India-New Zealand Strategic Partnership: Roadmap to 2030.

  • Furthermore, a special gala event themed “India-New Zealand: A Winning Partnership” was hosted by the Prime Minister of New Zealand to commemorate the deepening ties and shared democratic values.
  • India and New Zealand elevated bilateral ties to a Strategic Partnership and adopted the Roadmap to 2030, expanding cooperation in trade, defence, maritime security, agriculture, technology, clean energy, disaster management, and the Indo-Pacific.
  • The partnership aims to double bilateral trade to NZ$7 billion by 2030 and deepen strategic cooperation, but faces challenges from dairy-sector sensitivities, New Zealand’s economic dependence on China, connectivity gaps, labour mobility constraints, and transnational extremism concerns.

Key Features of the India-New Zealand Strategic Partnership: Roadmap to 2030

  • Institutionalises regular high-level visits, Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue, parliamentary exchanges, and annual Secretary-level meetings to steer the Strategic Partnership.
  • Expands military exchanges and naval exercises and implements new arrangements on Maritime Cooperation, Hydrography and Nautical Cartography, and Mutual Logistics Support.
  • An annual Maritime Security Dialogue will also be established for regular cooperation, coordination, and information exchange.
  • Establishes a Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism, strengthens cooperation on narcotics trafficking and law enforcement, and enhances cybersecurity cooperation through the India-New Zealand Cyber Dialogue.
  • The Roadmap sets an aspirational target of doubling bilateral trade to NZ$7 billion (₹35,000 crore) by 2030 and facilitates trusted trade through the 2025 Authorised Economic Operators Mutual Recognition Arrangement (AEO-MRA) under the aegis of the 2024 Customs Cooperation Arrangement (CCA), alongside efforts towards the early implementation of the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement.
  • Expands cooperation in horticulture, forestry, animal husbandry, and dairying.
    During the visit, an Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) on Animal Husbandry and Dairying was concluded and under the Agricultural Productivity Partnership, a Kiwifruit Action Plan and two Centres of Excellence in Nagaland and Uttarakhand will promote productivity through agricultural innovation, skills, and education.
  • The Tourism Cooperation Agreement signed during the visit aims to increase two-way tourist flows, while the updated Air Services Agreement seeks to encourage direct non-stop flights between India and New Zealand.
  • The India-New Zealand Joint Action Plan on Sport will expand collaboration beyond cricket, particularly as India prepares to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games.
  • The Cultural Cooperation Arrangement will promote exchanges in arts and heritage, while cooperation between the National Maritime Heritage Complex, Lothal, and the New Zealand Maritime Museum will strengthen collaboration in maritime history and heritage.
  • The roadmap expands cooperation in education, climate, digital transformation, and emerging technologies.
  • Agreements between National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) and the University of Canterbury will strengthen Antarctic research, while cooperation between National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management, Kundli (NIFTEM-K) & Massey University, New Zealand will promote research, academic exchanges, and student mobility.
  • New Zealand joined the Global Biofuels Alliance, while an MoC between India’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and New Zealand’s NEMA was concluded to strengthen earthquake resilience, tsunami preparedness, coastal hazard mitigation, and disaster-response capacity.
  • New Zealand prioritised the Maritime Security pillar of the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI), with a focus on combating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing.
  • Both countries reaffirm support for a rules-based Indo-Pacific, peaceful dispute resolution under UNCLOS, UN reform, and India’s permanent membership of a reformed UNSC.
  • The Roadmap to 2030 creates no financial commitments or legally binding obligations and serves as the implementation framework for the Strategic Partnership.