The prime minister said he hopes to head to India later this year – assuming he wins re-election in October.
Chris Hipkins met with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in Papua New Guinea yesterday. He described the meeting as “warm and engaging” and said Modi had invited him to visit India. “Engagement at prime minister-level is crucial to taking our relationship with India forward and prime minister Modi invited me to visit India as soon as I am able,” said Hipkins.
“We also discussed strengthening our trade links including through a visit by the New Zealand trade minister in the coming months.”
The opposition had urged Hipkins to push for a free trade deal with India during his face time with Modi. Speaking to Newstalk ZB this morning, Hipkins wouldn’t get into the specifics of what he and Modi talked about. However, he signalled that there had previously been roadblocks in locking down a FTA, particularly around agriculture. “That’s not to say there aren’t other opportunities,” said Hipkins, who believed the relationship between our two countries was in “a good position”.
On RNZ, Hipkins said securing a free trade deal involved more than just telling another country that they wanted an agreement. It would involve a long period of ongoing relationship building, he said.
