India and New Zealand on Sunday announced to launch talks on the 'overall and intervened' free trade agreement (FTA) after a 10 -year gap for bilateral economic relations and strengthening. Both countries started FTA talks 14 years ago but it came to a standstill after a 10 -round meeting. There was no formal talks in this regard after February 2015.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said in a post on Social Media Account X, 'We are happy to announce the introduction of India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) talks. This is an important achievement in our partnership and shows the shared vision of business cooperation more strong and expanding economic opportunities. ' He said, 'Bilateral trade is growing regularly. It has crossed $ 1 billion during April-January 2025. The purpose of FTA talks is to open new doors for business and consumers and promote mutual growth and prosperity between the two countries.
The announcement has been made at a time when New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is on a visit to India. The purpose of this journey is to strengthen economic cooperation and promote bilateral trade. New Zealand Prime Minister's visit to India began on Sunday. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a statement, 'India-New Zealand FTA talks aim to increase access to the market and achieve balanced results by increasing the supply chain more. This milestone reflects a shared view to promote a strong economic partnership, flexibility and prosperity. '
The ministry said that Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and his New Zealand counterpart Tod McLay met on Sunday and laid the foundation stone for strengthening trade and economic relations between the two countries. The time to start FTA talks is important because there is a need for major changes in global trade due to increasing Bhurajnical turmoil.
India is currently interacting with the US, Britain, European Union, Oman for a trade agreement. India and Australia are also interacting on the overall FTA. A decade ago between India and New Zealand, some disputed issues could not be compromised. After this, the pace of dialogue between the two countries also slowed down. These included several issues like being part of China -backed Regional Coordination Economic Partnership (RSP). However, after several years of deliberations, India exited RCEP in 2019. In 2023 from India to New Zealand, goods and services worth $ 0.91 billion were exported.
First Published – March 16, 2025 | 10:19 PM IST
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