Historic pact with India gives NZ an escape hatch from China's shadow
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon welcomes Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Government House in Auckland, marking the first visit by an Indian leader to New Zealand in 40 years. Photo: Getty. . .
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon welcomes Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Government House in Auckland, marking the first visit by an Indian leader to New Zealand in 40 years. Photo: Getty ImagesComment:When Rajiv Gandhi became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit New Zealand in 1986, he coined the memorable phrase that India and New Zealand were the “bookends of Asia” to describe the common ground he saw between the two countries. As Governor-General two decades later, Sir Anand Satyanand popularised Gandhi’s phrase to promote closer relations between the two countries, noting that despite their geographical separation, they shared democratic values, common-law traditions, English as a working language, and complementary economic interests. But despite this positive approach, including David Lange appointing Sir Edmund Hillary as High Commissioner to India in 1985, closer relations between India and New Zealand remained an aspiration rather than an achievement. Discussions between the two countries about a possible free trade agreement began around 2010 during the Key government but had largely fizzled out by 2015. This was because both countries had more pressing political and economic priorities at the time. Subscribe to continue readingAlready have an account?Sign In. Unlimited access Newsroom Pro articlesBonus subscription for a friend or family memberExclusive subscriber-only emailsAccess to post and read comments on articlesA daily morning email of news and insights curated by Newsroom Pro editorial teamCorporate subscriptions also availablePeter Dunne was the leader of United Future and served as a minister in former National and Labour governments. More by Peter Dunne