New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Luxon has said that the world is at an "inflection point in global geopolitics." He argues that while the emerging multipolar order is still evolving, countries must strengthen multilateral institutions and deepen cooperation with like-minded partners to address shared global challenges.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit New Zealand in July, which would be Modi’s first head of government. This is a historic trip given that India and New Zealand, on 27 April 2026, concluded a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in New Delhi. The deal, which is undergoing ratification, gives a practical shape to the long-standing desire of both nations to deepen their commercial ties.
New Zealand has for a long time considered India as a “strategic partner,” given the weight of the Indian economy, its increasing role in global politics, and its geographical centrality in the Indo-Pacific. A stronger bilateral relationship also helps New Zealand to not rely too heavily on a small group of countries for its exports.
One factor that has brought the two countries closer is the presence of a large Indian community in New Zealand, estimated at around 300,000 people (six percent of the population). Through commerce, academic exchanges, cultural activities and family connections, this diaspora has served as a link, referred to as a “vital living bridge” between the two governments over many years.
The trade between the two countries is still relatively small when compared to the overall size of the Indian economy. New Zealand exported to India goods and services valued at NZ$2.03 billion in the year ending December 2025, which made India only its 11th largest export market. This figure suggests that much of the trade potential between the two economies is yet to be realized.
