Venkat Raman
Auckland, April 15, 2024
A mature understanding of the existing and emerging potential for better relations, genuine care for international peace and prosperity and high-level visits are among the factors that are promoting India-New Zealand relations, High Commissioner Neeta Bhushan has said.
She said that India seeks partnerships with friendly countries like New Zealand as it progresses with incentives for foreign direct investment, manufacturers, technology providers, space research and many other areas.
“The visits of India’s External Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar to New Zealand in October 2022 and the visits of New Zealand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters to Gujarat and India (March 10 to 14, 2024), preceded by the visit of Trade Minister Todd McClay to New Delhi (December 19, 2023) have strengthened our bilateral relations. But I am aware that we have a lot more to do,” she said.
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Ms Bhushan was speaking at a breakfast meeting organised by the West Auckland Business Club on Friday, April 12, 2024, at Te Pai Place in Henderson. Business Club Chairman Michael Powell spoke about the activities of his organisation and the keenness of its members to engage better with India, while Waitakere Indian Association President Sunil Kaushal introduced Ms Bhushan as a career diplomat and her vast experience in building relationships between India and the countries where she has served in various capacities for almost four decades.
Please watch and listen to her speech here or by following the link below:
Neeta Bhushan’s Speech at West Business Group on April 12, 2024.
Indian Newslink was a guest of Chandan Ohri, Chief Executive of Duco Consultancy at the breakfast meeting. Among our longstanding friends at the event were Tim Livingstone (Treasurer of the Group) and former Judge of the Indian Newslink Business Awards), Barrister Lawrence Ponniah (Patron of the Group) and Mahesh Bindra (former Member of Parliament).
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Joint Research on Climate Change
Describing the India-New Zealand relationship as ‘positive, with both countries willing to engage in mutually rewarding initiatives and addressing global challenges,’ Ms Bhushan said that Climate Change is one of the major areas of bilateral cooperation.
She said that the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, one of the foremost institutions in the world has established the IIT Delhi-India-New Zealand Centre, in collaboration with the eight New Zealand Universities to enhance cultural ties.
“The initiative focuses on joint research projects in critical areas such as Climate Change, Disaster Management, Urban Planning and Environmental Monitoring, which are of mutual interest,” she said.
On February 21, 2024, IIT Delhi announced the names of the first two awardees (out of four) of the IIT Delhi-New Zealand Centre Fellowships. Both are academics from the University of Canterbury based in Christchurch.
They are Professor Clemency Montelle, Head of the Department of the School of Mathematics and Statistics and Professor Matthew Wilson, Director of the Geospatial Research Institute.
“These first-ever Fellowships mark a significant step towards fostering collaboration and creating job opportunities between New Zealand Universities,” an IIT Delhi Press Note said.
Professor Wilson will use geospatial data and analysis to quantify flood hazards and water resources in India and New Zealand. Working with Water Resource Researchers in the Department of Civil Engineering at IIT Delhi, he hopes that his research will contribute to developing technologies for monitoring and mitigating water hazards.
“India’s co-leadership of the NISAR satellite mission with NASA provides new opportunities for this collaboration. The Satellite (launched in March from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Southern India) with all-weather and day-night capability, NISAR data will provide valuable information for assessing flood risk and water resources,” he said.
Professor Montelle will draw upon her expertise in Sanskrit Knowledge Systems and New Zealand’s Indigenous Knowledge Systems during her Fellowship.
“There is a commitment by the Indian Ministry of Education to incorporate the Indian knowledge system throughout education. This is not an alternative to modern Science but understanding how Indigenous knowledge systems can enrich our current approaches,” she said.
Ms Bhushan spoke about India’s historic Chandrayaan 3 which landed on the Moon (Southside for the first time) on August 23, 2023 and the launch of the Aditya-L1 Mission on January 6, 2024. This Mission is an Indian Solar Observatory at Lagrangian Point L1 for observing and understanding the chromosphere and coronal dynamics of the Sun continuously and both spacecraft were indigenously built by the Bangalore-based Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
Ms Bhushan praised the involvement of Rakon New Zealand, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of frequency control products and timing solutions.
The company collaborated with ISRO with its 5G network expertise on satellites and other scientific solutions on both Chandrayaan 3 and Aditya L-1.
“Rakon is an excellent example of India-NZ partnership in space technology. The company has established a Centre of Excellence in Bangalore to strengthen its collaborative efforts with ISRO,” she said.
The Manufacturing Hub
Ms Bhushan said that India has become a profitable Manufacturing Hub and invited New Zealand companies to utilise the increasing opportunities in various States.
“Our government has got rid of Red Tape and removed more than 1500 laws or procedures that were a hindrance for investors, manufacturers and businesspersons. The system has been simplified and made customer-friendly and our High Commission in Wellington is always ready to provide information and services to potential entrepreneurs. Later this month, we will receive the Commerce Secretary to our Government and a large business delegation. We hope that the visit will lead to better outcomes for New Zealand businesses keen on India,” she said.
Ms Bhushan outlined her journey as a diplomat since she joined the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) in 1994- a journey that has taken her to Japan, Bangladesh, Germany, the United Arab Emirates and the USA, in addition to tours of duty at the External Affairs and Finance Ministries in New Delhi.
“I have experienced and witnessed a sea of change over the years. Our administrative system has been automated, the IT Revolution has made India the largest provider of corporate, accounting and services, and our educational institutions including the Institutes of Science and Institutes of Management are ranked among the best in the world. Our country is today the economic powerhouse of the world and a hub for Research and Development,” she said.
Ms Bhushan highlighted India’s role during Covid-19 pandemic, saying that apart from vaccinating all its citizens twice (accounting for about 2.8 billion jabs), indigenously manufactured vaccines were exported to more than 100 countries across the Continents.
“India has become the Pharmacy of the World,” she said and added that the role of the Indian Diaspora has been an integral part of the country’s growth.
Ms Bhushan said that India is the ‘Mother of All Democracies,’ and that the country takes its responsibility towards its citizens and the people of the world seriously.
India is now in the election mode and the polling process will be conducted in seven phases, accounting for more than 968 million eligible voters casting their ballots at more than 1.2 million booths across the country. People who are 85 years of age and above and disabled people will have the option of exercising their franchise from their homes. More than 15 million security and other personnel will be employed to ensure free and fair elections. Minimum facilities such as drinking water and other essentials will be made available at all polling stations.
The First phase will be held on April 19, followed by the remaining phases on April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1.
Counting will immediately thereafter and the results will be announced on June 4.
