The ‘Indo-Pacific bookends’ seeking to land on common ground

New Zealand's ties to India go back at least two centuries when both were British colonies.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon even touched on the long history between the two in his speech at India's premier security conference on Monday.

"At the beginning of the 19th century - well before we became a nation - Indian sailors jumped ship in New Zealand, with some meeting locals and marrying into our indigenous Māori tribes. A few years later, Māori traders began travelling to Kolkata to sell tree trunks used in sailing ships," Luxon told delegates at the Raisina Dialogue.

"[It's] an exchange that echoes down the ages."

The Imperial connection, shared Commonwealth heritage and independent journeys that started for both countries in the late 1940s have shaped their relationship since.

India gained independence from the British on 15 August 1947.

Later that same year, New Zealand lawmakers passed the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act and formally accepted full autonomy from Britain.

From 1947 to the present day, democratic traditions, sporting relations, common language, cultural links and an ever-growing Indian diaspora in New Zealand have defined the long-standing relationship between two countries.

In his speech on Monday, Luxon himself described the two nations as "the bookends of our wide Indo-Pacific region".

That said, trade volumes remain sluggish.

The value of New Zealand's total exports to India were worth a paltry $1.54 billion in 2024.

As Luxon nears the end of his frenetic four-day trip to India, it's worth tracing how the relationship between the two Indo-Pacific nations has evolved over the years as they begin negotiations on a lucrative free trade agreement.

Helping hand

While Prime Minister Peter Fraser (1940-49) welcomed India's independence in 1947, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's policy of non-alignment and India declaring itself a republic on 26 January 1950 didn't go down particularly well in New Zealand.

Wellington viewed the declaration to be a signal that the Commonwealth had lost authority.

However, everything changed when Walter Nash became prime minister in 1957, with the Labour Party leader visiting India the following year.

Nash's government contributed $1 million to the establishment of the prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi.

New Zealand formally established diplomatic relations with India and opened a High Commission in New Delhi on 6 December 1958.

Relations warmed over the next 10 years, with Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi (1966-77, 1980-84) visiting New Zealand in May 1968.

The relationship improved further when New Zealand sided with India - breaking ranks with its Western security partners - during the South Asian nation's war with Pakistan in 1971, which led to the independence of Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Norman Kirk (1972-74) developed a warm personal friendship with Indira Gandhi at a Commonwealth meeting in Ottawa in 1973.

Relations were at an all-time high, and an official Indian delegation headed to Wellington in March 1974 to explore the contours of a mutually beneficial bilateral relationship.

However, hope was short-lived.

Ties fray

India conducted its first nuclear test in May 1974, and public and political opinion in New Zealand turned against India.

Anti-nuclear sentiments in New Zealand were high at that time, with Kirk's government taking a firm stance against French nuclear testing in the Pacific in 1973.

Amid the fallout, India disappeared from New Zealand's foreign policy radar for several years.

A nadir was reached during the administration of Prime Minister Robert Muldoon (1975-84) when he closed the High Commission in New Delhi in 1982, citing costs.

New Zealand then sold the land it was gifted by India to establish the High Commission.

A couple of years later, relations improved with Labour's David Lange (1984-89) coming into office.

Lange visited India during his first overseas tour in October 1984, signalling a foreign policy shift.

The High Commission reopened in 1985, with Sir Edmund Hillary - a much-admired figure on the subcontinent - appointed as high commissioner.

Lange's time in office coincided with Indira Gandhi's son, Rajiv, leading India between 1984 and 1989.

Both leaders developed a unique friendship, mainly driven by Lange's fondness for the South Asian nation.

Trade focus

Rajiv Gandhi visited New Zealand in October 1986.

The two nations concluded several agreements during the trip, including a double taxation treaty and the New Zealand-India Trade Agreement, which established a joint business council and a joint trade committee.

These bodies were tasked with establishing an institutional framework to improve trade relations between the two countries.

1989 saw a change in government in both countries, and relations remained lukewarm for the next decade or so.

India's second nuclear tests in 1998 worsened the matter even further, with New Zealand recalling its high commissioner from India in response.

Things changed for the better when Prime Minister Helen Clark (1999-2008) visited India in October 2004 to hold talks with her Indian counterpart, Manmohan Singh (2004-14).

Singh described India's relationship with New Zealand as "close and very cordial".

"There is great scope to give it more solid content and I hope [Clark's] visit will consolidate this process," he said.

On her part, Clark called her visit "a strong expression of New Zealand's interest in relations with India and of our willingness to work to broaden and strengthen the relationship".

The relationship was elevated when the two countries agreed to explore the possibility of a free trade agreement in April 2007.

Trade Minister Phil Goff and his Indian counterpart, Kamal Nath, established a joint study group that eventually submitted a report to the government in March 2009.

The report identified existing barriers to trade and investment flows and made recommendations on the scope of a bilateral free trade agreement to commence negotiations.

Free trade negotiations

In February 2010, Trade Minister Tim Groser and Indian Commerce Minister Anand Sharma announced the commencement of free trade negotiations.

During his tenure, Prime Minister John Key (2008-16) visited India in June 2011, and then again in October 2016.

In October 2011, Key launched the NZ Inc India Strategy, which outlined "why New Zealand businesses should be looking at India".

Indian Presidents Pranab Mukherjee and Droupadi Murmu came to New Zealand on state visits in April 2016 and August 2024, respectively.

In the meantime, 10 rounds of talks were concluded as part of free trade negotiations between 2010 and 2015.

The talks were ultimately unsuccessful, with dairy proving a major obstacle.

Bilateral negotiations ended in 2015 after India joined the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiation, from which it withdrew in 2019.

The change in government in New Zealand in 2017 didn't help matters, and the pandemic halted all trade negotiations for nearly two years between 2020 to 2022.

Momentum picked up again after Chris Hipkins took over the country's leadership in January 2023.

Several high-profile visits took place, culminating with Hipkins meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Papua New Guinea in May 2023.

Ahead of the 2024 election, National leader Christopher Luxon vowed to take a delegation to India within a year of becoming prime minister during an election debate.

Hipkins followed suit, putting India at the centre of the political debate.

Luxon took over from Hipkins in November 2023 and is currently in India with what is believed to be the largest delegation to accompany a prime minister abroad.

The prime minister has vowed to secure a free trade agreement with India in his first term.

All eyes are now on Luxon to deliver on his promise.