India and New Zealand upgrade their relationship to a Strategic Partnership during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to New Zealand and set a goal to double annual bilateral trade by 2030 to ₹35,000 crore (about NZ$7 billion), according to multiple reports. The talks result in a package of agreements and announcements spanning defence and security, counter-terrorism, sports, culture, tourism, and maritime. Sources also describe a broader roadmap for the next several years that includes steps toward advancing the India-New Zealand free trade agreement (FTA), with a stated aim of supporting its early entry into force and effective implementation.
PM Modi and New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon both frame the partnership as a turning point for strengthening cooperation across sectors. In addition to economic objectives, the outcomes are reported to include structured collaboration related to innovation and people-to-people links. While the coverage varies on the exact number of outcomes and how they are categorized, all accounts point to the same core decision: elevating ties to a strategic partnership and establishing the trade-doubling benchmark by 2030.
