Venkat Raman
Auckland, March 5, 2024
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will be in India on a four-day official visit from March 10, 2024, during which he is expected to meet his Indian counterpart, Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, other ministers and officials in New Delhi.
His visit will set the stage once again for better political relations between the two countries after they received a setback when his predecessor Nania Mahuta responded to a question from this Reporter at a press conference in Auckland on October 6, 2022, that ‘A Free Trade Agreement with India was not a priority for New Zealand.’
That unfortunate statement did not help either country.
Mr Peters, a veteran of foreign affairs and a no stranger to India (he has visited India several times during his earlier tenures (2002 to 2005 and 2017 to 2020) understands the historical ties between the two countries.
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Recognising India’s importance
He told us during his visit to our offices on December 8, 2022, that the Labour government had failed to recognise the importance of India-NZ relations and that the contributions of the Indian community to the progress of this country have been significant and historical.
“India is a country with which New Zealand can, should and will be doing more. New Zealand recognises the global and regional leadership role that India plays, and we are determined to build a broader, deeper, mutually beneficial relationship,” he said in Wellington today (March 5, 2024)
Mr Peters will commence his official visit to India in Ahmedabad, where he will meet Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendrabhai Patel.
“Gujarat is a state which has been an engine of Indian economic growth, and which has significant connections to New Zealand’s Indian Diaspora,” he said.
Although New Zealand is a very small country with trade remaining almost static at about $2.5 billion over the past ten or more years, Wellington has not exerted enough to improve relations. Dr Jaishankar constantly refers to Australia and Fiji as “Friends of India in the South Pacific region.”
New Zealand has thus far not had that privilege.
Mr Peters knows that he has significant work to do to change that perception and prove to New Delhi that his country is keen to do serious business with India.
The visit of Todd McClay to New Delhi on December 19, 2023, less than three weeks after he was sworn in as the Trade Minister, proves that point.
Partnership and Pact
Mr McClay said that New Zealand appreciates the constructive role that India has played in the negotiation of these pillars and that his government is keen to achieve a formal partnership with India on these issues. This network of agreements has supported remarkable economic growth in the Indo-Pacific region and has drawn trading partners closer politically, affirming and strengthening relationships.
“Our relationship with India also has partnership at its core. The political, defence and security, people-to-people, cultural and economic elements of our relationship are interlinked. New Zealand wants a modern, broad-based, comprehensive relationship with India. We want economic cooperation based on mutual benefit and shared interests. This means supporting India’s economic ambitions in a way that benefits both countries. It means knowing each other better and investing across the relationship in areas of importance to us both. I am keen to hear in my conversations here in Delhi about the areas where India sees potential for us to strengthen our partnership,” Mr McClay said.
Mr Peters said that he would highlight the importance of working together with India in promoting the economic and social developments of the Pacific Island countries.
A great opportunity for Peters
Such a conversation will also kindle the interest of New Delhi, which is not only keen to step up its engagement with the region but also check the advances being made by China with its so-called, ‘Belt and Road Initiative.’ India can be a genuine partner in the progress of the Pacific Island countries and would count on the support of Australia and New Zealand in the process.
Mr Peters therefore has a great opportunity to set the right equation with India.
As we have mentioned in the past, political relations between India and New Zealand soured during the time of Robert Muldoon as the Prime Minister when he ordered the closure of the High Commission in New Delhi (in 1982) following his tensions with his Indian counterpart Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Despite one visit by Helen Clark in September 2004 and two visits by John Key in June 2011 and October 2016 (this Reporter was a part of their delegations), relations have not resulted in any significant economic pacts.
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is keen to promote better relations with India and has promised to visit New Delhi during his first year in office. Mr Peters will no doubt renew New Zealand’s invitation to the Indian Prime Minister to visit New Zealand.
It is not known if Mr Peters will have an opportunity to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his forthcoming visit since he is currently in his election campaign.
Relations with Indonesia and Singapore
The current tour will also take Mr Peters to Indonesia and Singapore.
“The Coalition Government is making South and South East Asia a priority because it is critical to maintaining and building New Zealand’s security and prosperity. We intend for the New Zealand Government to bring greater focus and energy to South and South East Asia – a fast-growing region with significant further potential for our country. As well as meeting Dr Jaishankar in New Delhi, I look forward to meeting Retno Marsudi and Vivian Balakrishnan, the Foreign Ministers of Indonesia and Singapore,” Mr Peters said.
He said that he will be privileged to spend time with three experienced and accomplished Foreign Ministers whose views on the issues facing the world and the Indo-Pacific, in particular, carry considerable weight.
“If New Zealand wishes to maximise our influence and impact in the region, we need to lift our game with all three of India, Indonesia and Singapore.”
“Indonesia will be within the world’s top 10 economies by 2030 and there is considerable potential to increase our two-way trade, including through halal recognition and resolving trade barriers. Indonesia shapes the region and the world,” Mr Peters said.
March 15 and After
His visit is also an opportunity to acknowledge the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks in Christchurch on March 15, 2019.
“Jakarta was the first capital I visited following the March 15 attacks in 2019, and Indonesia Foreign Minister Marsudi was instrumental in helping New Zealand to engage with the Muslim world in the weeks following. It is appropriate that we return to the capital of the world’s most populous Muslim country on this anniversary,” Mr Peters said.
During his visit to Singapore, he will also meet Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen and Richard Chandler, the New Zealand-born chair of Singapore conglomerate the Clermont Group.
“New Zealand and Singapore have a strong, long-standing relationship which requires further effort to ensure it is realising its full potential. We intend to talk to partners in Singapore next week about priority developments in our region, and further areas where we can cooperate,” Mr Peters said.
Mr Peters will be in India from March 10, in Indonesia on March 14 and in Singapore on March 15. He will return on March 16, 2024.
