Prime Minister to visit India with trade delegation

Developing an already strong relationship and boosting two way trade will be the focus of Prime Minister John Key’s upcoming visit to India.

The Prime Minister will be accompanied by Minister of Trade, Tim Groser, and a 25-strong business delegation from New Zealand.

“India is a rapidly rising player in the Asia-Pacific region, and we want to build on our already strong economic, social and sporting ties. This visit demonstrates the value New Zealand places on the relationship.

“Leading such a diverse and high-profile delegation to visit India’s largest cities is exciting, and will open many doors for New Zealand business,” says Mr Key.

The Prime Minister will meet India’s Prime Minister Singh in New Delhi. Discussions will be wide-ranging, but are likely to focus on making further progress on the New Zealand-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations.

“The trade potential of the India market is huge and we have set a target of growing two-way trade from NZ$1.28 billion to NZ$3 billion by 2014.

“We want greater engagement across a range of sectors, including science and innovation, Bollywood-NZ film co-productions, defence, tourism and education,” says Mr Key.

The Prime Minister will also promote the government’s India strategy which aims to position India as a core political, economic and trade partner for New Zealand by 2015. The strategy has been developed by government agencies in consultation with business, exporters and academics.

“The key to this strategy is to successfully negotiate an FTA with India - one of our top trade negotiating priorities. This will help expand businesses, create jobs and result in a stronger New Zealand economy,” says Mr Key.

The Prime Minister and his delegation will fly RNZAF 757 departing Sunday 26 June and returning Friday 1 July.

They will visit New Delhi, Agra and Mumbai on the trip, which has generously been accorded ‘state visit’ status by the Government of India.