Venu Menon
Wellington, February 20,2024
New Zealand Minister of Trade and Agriculture Todd McClay has signalled the need for India and New Zealand to get the balance right between subsidies and exports in trade relations.
“We need to get the balance right between making sure that subsidies don’t hurt food producers and agricultural exports, but we must also recognise that developing countries need to make sure that they have food security,” McClay told representatives of the Indian business community at a reception hosted by High Commissioner of India to New Zealand Neeta Bhushan in Wellington on February 19.
McClay referenced his recent visit to India and his “warm and productive meetings with my Indian counterpart,” Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, and with “a number of key Indian and New Zealand business people.”
During his visit, the minister stressed that New Zealand was “open for business and focused on expanding our relationship with India.”
He also recalled his conversation with Indian G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant.
“We agreed to expand our connections, and identify our complementary strengths and expertise and find ways to build our contact. Our products and services are world class. And India’s products and services are also world class. Our expertise, experience, technology and a practical edge can have a real impact when paired with India’s dynamic and educated population, and sustained economy,” McClay told Kant.
The minister said he thanked his Indian counterpart Goyal “for his efforts in helping find ways for New Zealand log exports to get back into the Indian market.” In turn, McClay told Goyal that “Indian mangoes would be able to be welcomed on [supermarket] shelves in New Zealand.”
The minister briefed Goyal on New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s “commitment before the elections, if he was elected prime minister, to visit India within his first year.” He said it was a demonstration of Prime Minister Luxon’s commitment to building the relationship with India.
He also mentioned the World Trade Organisation’s 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13), which starts next week in Abu Dhabi, UAE. McClay noted the “great relationship that exists between India and the UAE. Both are very good friends of New Zealand.” He highlighted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to the UAE.
McClay said MC13 offered “a rare opportunity for like-minded countries, such as India and New Zealand, to come together to work for fair common rules that back our economies, grow the wealth of our citizens and bring our countries closer together.”
McClay closed by acknowledging the “Indian business community in New Zealand and the New Zealand business community in India” for their role in furthering the relationship between the two countries.
The minister then welcomed questions from the floor.
Earlier, Indian High Commissioner Neeta Bhushan welcomed McClay and extolled his commitment to advance the India-New Zealand partnership.
She recapped the various business events organised by the High Commission of India, including the Indian Business Summit held last year when India’s Minister of State for External Affairs, Dr Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, took part. She described the trade partnership between India and New Zealand as being “far below the potential” that was possible between the two countries. But positive outcomes had been achieved. “As we saw last year, we were able to get mangoes from India, and were able to send wooden logs from New Zealand to India,” High Commissioner Bhushan pointed out.
Manoj K Sahu, Second Secretary (Political and Commercial), who organised the event, told Indian Newslink: “This is one of the many business events planned for the year under the leadership of High Commissioner Neeta Bhushan. It aims at sharing knowledge to unlock the potential between India and New Zealand in terms of trade and commerce.”
Venu Menon is an Indian Newslink reporter based in Wellington
