New Zealand Foreign Minister meets Jaishankar, discusses ties, Indo-Pacific

Mahuta and Jaishankar discussed the whole range of bilateral matters, including economic cooperation, educational exchanges, defence engagements and people-to-people contacts, according to Ministry of External Affairs.

“They exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest and discussed India and New Zealand’s shared vision for a rules-based, peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” the MEA statement said.

Mahuta handed over signed copies of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) Framework Agreement to Jaishankar, paving the way for New Zealand’s membership of this initiative.

“India and New Zealand share close bilateral relations based on commonalities of democratic traditions and shared values bolstered by strong people-to-people ties. The two countries are engaging in cooperation across a wide range of areas, including economic, political, defence, education, and science & technology,” the MEA said.

“Reconnecting New Zealand remains a key priority as we look to strengthen our economic resilience and progress ties with our international partners,” Mahuta said. “New Zealand and India have an energetic and vibrant relationship. We share strong people-to-people links with more than 240,000 people of Indian descent calling New Zealand home.”

“New Zealand sees India as a core and influential partner in the Indo-Pacific and we have welcomed their participation in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. This framework offers a key vehicle for engaging with India as part of a broader regional agenda. Both of our countries value each other’s perspectives on the Pacific region and we will discuss opportunities to work together on climate change and our views on regional security,” she said.

Gets call from Cleverly

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday spoke to his British counterpart James Cleverly focusing on various aspects of bilateral ties and India’s G20 presidency. The phone conversation came ahead of the British Foreign Secretary’s likely visit to India to attend a meeting of the G20 foreign ministers on March 1 and 2. “Received a call from UK Foreign Secretary @JamesCleverly. Reviewed our bilateral relationship and discussed the agenda of India’s G20 presidency,” Jaishankar tweeted.